Vasic: Miladinovic questioned as a witness; police officers may be prosecuted for the use of weapons

Lawyer Dejan Vasic, the representative of Mladen Miladinovic, who was shot at by Kosovo Police yesterday, said that his client did not have a driver’s license at the time the patrol stopped him, that he was questioned about the inscription on his t-shirt, and that the police tried to confiscate his phone, which frightened the young man and caused him to flee. He added that Miladinovic was questioned last night at the police station as a witness and was then released.

“Yesterday, in the village of Vuca in the Leposavic municipality, Mladen Miladinovic and his friends were on an outing. They were stopped by the Kosovo Police. Mladen was driving but did not have a driver’s license. They began questioning him about the inscription on his t-shirt, ‘For the honorable cross and golden freedom,’ and asked him what it meant. Then they tried to take his mobile phone for inspection. Because of that, he got scared and started to run away. At that moment, he heard several shots fired but does not know who fired them. Fortunately, none of the bullets hit anyone, and he managed to escape. After that, he called me, and I went with him to the police station. Miladinovic was informed there that he would be questioned as a witness. He is not a suspect or anything else; he was questioned last night and released home,” Vasic said.

Vasic notes that if it is proven that the police officers used firearms without justification, they could face disciplinary or criminal prosecution, while his client retains the status of a witness in further proceedings.

“This kind of police reaction has happened for the third or fourth time here in northern Kosovo. There have been cases where police officers were convicted or subject to disciplinary proceedings for such actions. Personally, although I was not present, I think they should not have reacted in that way,” Vasic added.

According to him, the case has been forwarded to Kosovo investigative authorities, and the procedure is ongoing. Miladinovic, Vasic says, has the status of a witness in all further proceedings.

“We will see how this process unfolds. The question is whether the police officers who fired without reason in his direction or into the air, I don’t know exactly how it all happened, will be prosecuted disciplinarily, criminally, or otherwise. However, regarding my client, he has the status of a witness in any of these proceedings,” Vasic said.

He added that he does not have insight into the procedures being conducted.

“As a witness’s representative, I do not have insight into the procedures being conducted there,” Vasic concluded.