Office for Kosovo and Metohija: Verdict against Milenkovic is proof that the judiciary in Kosovo is a political tool for persecuting Serbs

The Office for Kosovo and Metohija stated that the Basic Court in Pristina’s sentencing of Dragisa Milenkovic to seven years in prison for an alleged war crime is a flagrant example of the dysfunctionality and political instrumentalization of the judiciary in Kosovo.

According to the statement, the proceedings against Milenkovic were nothing more than a political hunt and a fabricated campaign against an innocent man, who was convicted of a serious criminal offense without any material evidence, many years after the alleged crime was committed, despite the fact that during all that time, the convicted individual had been available to judicial authorities.

“As is often the case in proceedings of this kind, the hunt began with the slander of a neighbor with whom Milenkovic had a history of disputes, and the process was fabricated along the way to justify the unjust arrest of an innocent man. Yet again, the personal revenge or self-interest of an unreliable witness was used to destroy the life of an innocent person, and since this is not the first time similar anomalies have occurred within the justice system under Pristina’s control, we are inevitably led to conclude that the judiciary in Kosovo and Metohija is a political tool for persecuting Serbs,” the statement reads.

They further noted that they would inform international organizations about the case in detail.

“We will continue to provide the necessary support to the victim of persecution, Dragisa Milenkovic from Kisnica near Gracanica, and his family, in the hope that the verdict will be overturned on appeal,” the statement concludes.