Pantovic and Delevic: No evidence against Serbs accused of terrorism, we hope for an acquittal

Lawyers Milos Delevic and Ljubomir Pantovic, defense attorneys for Aleksandar Vlajic and Dejan Pantic, who are accused of terrorism, stated today after delivering their closing arguments that they expect an acquittal, as the charges were not proven during the proceedings.

According to the indictment, Milun Milenkovic, Dejan Pantic, Aleksandar Vlajic, and Miomir Vakic, in co-perpetration with other unidentified individuals, allegedly carried out a terrorist attack on the premises of the Municipal Election Commission on December 6, 2022, when two hand grenades and two stun grenades were thrown during Serbian protests. The indictment claims this act endangered human lives.

Attorney Ljubomir Pantovic emphasized that the Kosovo prosecutors have forgotten what it means to drop charges due to lack of evidence.

He added that although the verdict should be an acquittal, he does not expect it to happen “because politics has entered the judiciary through the front door.”

“That concept doesn’t exist here. It is a legal obligation for prosecutors not to press charges when there is no evidence, or, if during the proceedings it becomes clear that there is no evidence, to withdraw the charges. Here, the opposite is happening. A baseless, chaotic, and completely unsubstantiated indictment stands against these four men. The prosecutor stubbornly insists on it. Now it is up to the panel of judges, and their job is easy, to determine, and I believe they already know, that the indictment is unproven, the men are not guilty, and the only possible outcome of this trial is an acquittal. However, I’m not sure that will happen, because politics is heavily involved in the judiciary. If this trial does not end with an acquittal, it will be a major defeat for them,” Pantovic stated.

Attorney Milos Delevic also expects an acquittal for the four Serbs.

“In the civilized world, no one dares to convict based on suspicions, assumptions, fictions, and conspiracy theories put forward by the state prosecutor. I hope that will not be the case here either. I expect all four of them to be acquitted on Monday,” Delevic said.

The verdict is scheduled to be delivered on July 28 at 9:30 AM.