Pasic: The indictment for war crimes near Djakovica in 1999 is cumbersome and inconclusive

Lawyer and former military prosecutor Dragan Pasic stated, regarding the start of the trial in absentia of 53 army and police members in Pristina accused of war crimes in 1999 near Djakovica, that the indictment does not meet the necessary standards of “reasonable suspicion” and is, in form, cumbersome and in many key points, inconclusive.

“The indictment is cumbersome. Out of the 96 pages it contains, only two pages list the incriminating actions, which again are insufficiently defined and vague regarding the acts attributed to the accused,” Pasic told Kosovo Online.

The Basic Court in Pristina today began the first major trial for war crimes in absentia.

A total of 53 members of the army and police are charged, including then-commanders of field units.

They are accused of participating in a “joint criminal enterprise” in which, between April 27 and 29, 1999, they allegedly killed 370 civilians in several villages around Djakovica, primarily in the village of Meja.

The second charge in the indictment accuses them of “expulsion, destruction, and looting of property,” alleging that more than 20,000 Albanians were deported across two border crossings into Albania during that period, and their property was looted and burned.

Pasic noted that the indictment’s disposition mentions five military units: the 52nd Military Police Battalion, the 63rd Parachute Brigade, the 2nd Battalion of the 549th Motorized Brigade, the 125th Motorized Brigade, and the 52nd Artillery-Rocket Brigade.

“In the introduction of the indictment, it states that the military and police leadership made the decision to carry out the killings of 370 civilians, primarily from Meja, municipality of Djakovica, although several other villages are also mentioned. Then, in the second count of the indictment, the 53 defendants are charged with expelling and deporting 20,000 civilians across two border crossings into Albania,” Pasic said.

He noted that the reasoning section includes assertions about the alleged crimes.

“In my opinion, this doesn’t even meet the level of reasonable suspicion, although suspicion exists,” Pasic said.

He added that a further inconsistency in the indictment is evident because the reasoning refers to crimes allegedly committed not only by the five military units but also by special police forces.

“At the same time, it remains unclear whether all these military units were involved in the crimes. If they were, how is it possible that only 53 individuals are included,  and not just military personnel, but also police officers and even civilians, since the mayor of the Municipality of Djakovica is also named in the indictment,” Pasic observes.