Petronijevic: Pressure on Serbia as a consequence of unprincipled application of law

When parts of the international community criticize and pressure Serbia regarding Banjska, but simultaneously oppose Serbia’s attempts to establish a special prosecutor's office and court division to prosecute those who committed crimes in Kosovo and Metohija under the same legal standards, it reflects an unprincipled application of law, attorney Goran Petronijevic says for Kosovo Online.

He adds that the proposed law on the jurisdiction of judicial bodies in prosecuting crimes committed in the territory of Kosovo, which was adopted by the Serbian government, is not acceptable to part of the international community because such legal actions would implicate their allies, who were involved alongside them in 1998 and 1999, namely the "KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army) and its followers."

Petronijevic notes that people in Serbia have become almost accustomed to the selective treatment of certain issues, where it is deemed normal to say, "In this case, the state should function, but in that one, it should not."

"Kosovo and Metohija is constitutionally and internationally a part of the territory of the Republic of Serbia, a sovereign and internationally recognized state. That is the legal reality. However, the factual situation differs somewhat because Kosovo and Metohija is an occupied territory, as much as our authorities and many people resist saying or acknowledging it. It is occupied by NATO and the KLA, or rather their successors, who now don various uniforms and form armies, contrary to Resolution 1244 and all international agreements and acts," Petronijevic states.

If a law applies within Serbia, he adds, then it also applies to Kosovo, with no room for double standards.

"If there is a demand for Serbia to prosecute Radoicic, then the prosecutor's office and courts are doing their job. However, they lack cooperation from Kosovo institutions in providing evidence, not even from EULEX, which is necessary for the prosecution to proceed. This lack of cooperation aims to discredit Belgrade's judicial system, to claim that 'they are not working or unwilling to work,' and thereby push Serbia under Western pressure. That narrative is false, the reality is entirely the opposite," Petronijevic asserts.

As Radoicic's legal defender, he reminds that Milan Radoicic, following the events in Banjska, publicly stated, "I did it," explaining his reasons and leaving no room for "secrets or ambiguity."

"This was an act of resistance against the severe oppression exercised by Kurti's regime against the people of Kosovo and Metohija. The justification for his actions is evidenced by the continued oppression and the outcomes of subsequent events. The state reacted by detaining him, questioning him, initiating proceedings, and requesting evidence from those in possession of it. Yet, they refuse to provide it. They withhold the evidence because they know that the lack of it will stall the proceedings here, making it impossible to continue. Meanwhile, they use this situation as a tool for constant political and legal attacks on Serbia," Petronijevic concludes.