Trajkovic's lawyers: Actions accused by witness aren't even a criminal offense, let alone a war crime

After the hearing in the case of Slađan Trajkovic, who is charged by the Special Prosecution for alleged war crimes, lawyers Dejan A. Vasic and Jelena Krivokapic stated that they are satisfied with the testimony of the witness because, as they claim, it practically does not directly accuse Trajkovic of anything.

Trajkovic is charged with alleged crimes against civilians in the period from 1998 to 1999 in the municipality of Vucitrn. He himself participated in today's examination of the witness Medi Gashi, and the defense suggested several times that the statements of the witness from 2021 do not match today's.

Lawyer Dejan A. Vasic emphasizes that the actions for which the witness accuses Trajkovic are not even a criminal offense.

"In essence, we are satisfied with the testimony of this witness. He is not a witness who heavily accuses Slađan of anything. In fact, the actions he says Sladjan allegedly committed are not any criminal offense. We hope that with this efficient pace and in the next three hearings, we will manage to hear the majority of witnesses that the prosecution considers important, which would probably create conditions for changing the measure imposed on Sladjan so far. The actions he says Slađan committed are not actions that could be considered a criminal offense at all, let alone a war crime," said Vasic.

Lawyer Jelena Krivokapic is also satisfied with today's trial.

"We started with this witness who was supposed to be one of the stronger witnesses for the prosecution. However, after our examination, we see that he doesn't have much to say against Sladjan. He practically calls him a participant. So, we are very satisfied because one of the key witnesses doesn't directly accuse Slađan of anything. There are some other things that make us very satisfied, but I don't think we should talk about that today," said Krivokapic.

The next hearings in the case of Trajkovic are scheduled for May 7th, 17th, and 20th.

Sladjan Trajkovic was arrested on December 15, 2022, in North Mitrovica and has been in custody since then.

The Special Prosecution of Kosovo has filed an indictment against the accused Sladjan Trajkovic for war crimes against the civilian population in the period from 1998 to 1999, in the village of Reznik in the municipality of Vucitrn and surrounding villages.