Filipovic: The statements of the defense have been confirmed by the testimony of the witnesses that Arsic did not commit the crimes he is accused of

Before the Specialized Department of the Basic Court in Pristina, three defense witnesses were examined today in the case of Dusko Arsic from Matiqan, near Pristina, who is charged with alleged war crimes committed in Kosovo in 1999, and his lawyer Jovana Filipovic points out that the statements of the witnesses have confirmed the allegations of the defense that the accused did not commit the crimes he is charged with.

Filipovic states that the witnesses, former colleagues of Dusko Arsic, two Serbian women and one Albanian, gave their first-hand knowledge about the period in which Arsic is suspected of committing a war crime.

"They stated that during that period, from January to June 1999, Dusko Arsic had been regularly at his job that he had performed his duties, he had been a surveyor and he had worked in the Municipality of Pristina. During that period, he was with his colleagues, and all three witnesses stated today that Arsic had never worn a uniform, nor he had had a weapon. They also said that they had not heard this from anyone else, even in the period after the 1999 conflict. These witness statements confirm the defense's claims that Dusko Arsic did not commit the crimes he is accused of, nor did he participate in any other wartime events," Filipovic said.

So far, Filipovic points out, that 10 witnesses have been heard, stating that the prosecution witnesses, who have been heard so far, have not confirmed that they witnessed the events that are being blamed on Arsic.

"None of the prosecution's witnesses confirmed the allegation from the indictment that they personally or directly saw Dusko Arsic commit the acts he is accused of. The prosecution's witnesses said that they had heard and had some other circumstantial knowledge; however, no one confirmed that he "saw the commission of a specific criminal act’. For this reason, we believe that the indictment cannot stand and that a conviction cannot be passed based on such an indictment," Filipovic said.

The next hearing, as Filipovic added, was scheduled for September 13, when the hearing of the prosecution's witnesses would continue.

At today's hearing, the witness of the prosecution was supposed to be heard, but he informed the court immediately before the start of the trial that he would not be able to attend the hearing due to health reasons.

Filipovic reminds that a civil case for the usurpation of Dusko Arsic's property is being conducted at the same time before the Basic Court in Pristina.

The criminal proceedings, which were conducted due to the legalization of false content, ended with a first-instance conviction against I.M. by which he was sentenced to three years in prison, which, according to Filipovic, confirmed that Arsic's property was confiscated illegally.

Dusko Arsic was arrested on December 8, 2021, at the Jarinje crossing, in the presence of two minor children, after he came to solve problems regarding usurped property in the village of Matiqan, near Pristina.