Miljkovic: Pelevic did not commit the crime he is accused of; I hope he will be released to defend himself from liberty

Attorney Predrag Miljkovic stated, following the detention hearing for Serb Dejan Pelevic, who was arrested in Socanica, that he hopes his client will be allowed to defend himself from liberty, as there is no risk of flight or of influencing witnesses.
Miljkovic told gathered journalists that he had pointed out it was impossible for his client to have committed the crime he is charged with.

“A hearing was held today to determine detention for Dejan Pelevic from Srbica, currently residing in Socanica. The prosecution claims that Dejan Pelevic participated in certain events that took place on March 20 in Srbica, where around 15 civilians were killed and 16 went missing. During this hearing, we pointed out that it is impossible for Dejan to have taken part in such actions. First, according to publicly available data from the Humanitarian Law Center, the operation on March 20 was carried out by special police units from Uzice and the 139th Motorized Brigade—these are public facts. On the other hand, among the listed civilians allegedly killed, a quick check showed that several of them were actually members of the KLA who were given honorary burials at the memorial cemetery in Srbica, in the village of Marine. Therefore, it is inappropriate and unfounded to classify someone as a civilian if they were buried with honors as fighters of the then KLA,” Miljkovic stated.

He emphasized that Pelevic had worked as a police officer since 1983.
“Everyone in Srbica knows Dejan very well, and I believe that if he had done anything wrong, Srbica and its residents would never have forgiven him. On the contrary, Dejan has visited Srbica more than twenty or even fifty times since the war, for matters such as regulating the apartment he owned and later sold, paying property taxes, and so on. Never—not once—did anyone even look at him the wrong way in Srbica. Everyone knows him, both Serbs and Albanians. After the war, he was integrated and worked in the Kosovo Police. It is unbelievable that witnesses are now accusing Dejan after 30 years. If those witnesses or the families of the victims truly knew that Dejan had killed someone on March 20, 1999, I believe they would have reported him to the police no later than June 11,” the lawyer said.
He added that he does not believe in the prosecution’s request because, in his view, there is not even minimal suspicion—let alone reasonable suspicion—that Pelevic committed the alleged acts.
“Furthermore, I believe there is no risk of flight. The prosecution notes that he frequently crosses at Jarinje. Of course he does—he lives in Leposavic. It is normal that he goes during the month to buy medication or collect his pension. That is nothing unusual. It is also alleged that he might influence witnesses. I believe that is impossible, since we do not even know who the witnesses are, and the few who have given statements have already had those statements secured. They cannot be influenced—they have already testified. I expect the court to decide properly on this matter and to allow Dejan to defend himself from liberty,” Miljkovic said.

Asked about the real motive behind the arrest, Miljkovic said he did not know.
“Dejan has lived in Kosovo for about 27 years after the war. He has many Albanian friends. Even his father was a godfather to many Albanian families in the Srbica area. Those relationships were built over many years—acquaintances and friendships. I do not believe such relationships would have endured if Dejan had truly been a criminal,” the lawyer said.
Miljkovic described the increasingly frequent arrests of Serbs on suspicion of war crimes as an “epidemic.”
“I would call it an epidemic of such war crimes proceedings; I don’t know what is happening. It is very relevant to recall a statement by former president Vjosa Osmani, who said: ‘We must speed up these proceedings; our witnesses are dying.’ I said it then and I say it now—perhaps it would be better to gather one hundred or one hundred fifty people and immediately convict them on the spot, publicly, to satisfy certain opinions and interests, and to put an end to this once and for all,” Miljkovic concluded.

Dejan Pelevic was arrested on April 14 in Socanica on suspicion of committing the criminal offense of “war crimes against the civilian population,” and was ordered into 48-hour detention.