Three years since the wounding of Stefan and Milos Stojanovic in Gotovusa, verdict against Kurtaj still pending

Three years have passed since the wounding of boys Stefan and Milos Stojanovic on Orthodox Christmas Eve in 2023 in Gotovusa. The court proceedings against Azem Kurtaj, who shot the Serbian young men, are ongoing, and the representative of one of the injured parties, attorney Veljko D. Radic, expects a verdict to be delivered during this year.

On Orthodox Christmas Eve, January 6, 2023, as Milos and Stefan Stojanovic from Gotovusa were returning from cutting a Christmas oak branch, a member of the Kosovo Security Force, Azem Kurtaj, fired at them from a moving vehicle. He wounded both of them, one in the hand and the other in the shoulder area.

Attorney Veljko D. Radic, legal representative of the injured Milos Stojanovic, said that seven hearings were held over the past year and that he expects a verdict during this year.

“Over the course of last year, seven hearings were held before the Basic Court in Urosevac, and the hearings, taking into account the status of a minor as the injured party in this procedure, were closed to the public. Witnesses proposed by the state prosecutor were heard,” Radic stated.

The pace at which the hearings were held over the past year is, he says, satisfactory for him as a lawyer representing the injured party.

“However, due to the nature of the evidentiary procedure, especially the examination of witnesses which usually takes longer, I believe that the verdict was not delivered in 2025. Taking into account the pace and dynamics of the hearings, I expect that the verdict in this criminal case will be delivered during this year,” Radic said.

Vice president of the Serb List Dalibor Jevtic, who at the time of the wounding of the youths was the mayor of Strpce, admits that even three years after the event he feels the same sense of disappointment because someone shot at children.

“Even after three years, I feel the same as I did on January 6, 2023, a sense of disappointment due to the fact that someone shot at our children, our youth, and in that way tried not only to harm those children, but also to send a message to all of us that we are not welcome here. I am proud that we, as a people, sent a clear message, and that all our compatriots supported us in those moments, not only physically by coming to support us at the largest protest ever held in Strpce on January 8, 2023, but also by being determined that this would not discourage us, and that those who thought they would succeed in expelling us from these areas in that way would not succeed,” Jevtic said.

He says he is disappointed with the court proceedings, which have still not reached the outcome that should be reached in order for justice to be served.

“The person who tried to kill Stefan and Milos should be punished for that. As a result of the court proceedings, we have seen the other side trying to portray itself as the victim, claiming that the person who fired the shots did so in self-defense. Even today I ask the question: what was Azem Kurtaj defending himself from? From our Orthodox Christmas oak branches or from what the holiday itself represents, which is life?” Jevtic asked.

For that reason, he says, he will demand justice not only for Stefan and Milos and their families, but justice for all Serbs.

“I know this will not be easy, but we must be persistent and resolute, and that must be our shared message. We will succeed in this struggle called survival if we stand together, united, just as we stood here on January 6 defending the right to life and survival with a clear message that we will not be discouraged,” Jevtic said.

The police detained Kurtaj, a member of the Kosovo Security Force suspected of shooting at Serbian boys, that same afternoon, January 6, 2023, but during the proceedings, in October of that year, he was released to defend himself at liberty.

At the time, diplomatic representatives of the United States and Germany in Pristina, as well as EULEX, condemned the wounding of Milos and Stefan.

The then US ambassador in Pristina, Jeffrey Hovenier, stated that the United States was shocked and condemned the wounding of the two Serbian boys, while EULEX pledged at the time that it would “closely monitor the investigation.” The attack was also condemned by the German ambassador in Pristina at the time, Jorn Rohde.

European Commissioner for Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi also reacted, stating that he was shocked by the attack on two children in Strpce, while the OSCE said that there “must be zero tolerance for such acts of violence.”