Vasic: Procedural violation because the trial is closed to the public, next hearing on September 11th

At today's trial in the case of Sladjan Trajkovic from North Mitrovica, whom the Specialist Prosecutor's Office accuses of alleged war crimes in Kosovo during the period from 1998 to 1999, a significant procedural violation occurred as the hearing was unlawfully closed to the public, attorney Dejan A. Vasic said to Kosovo Online and added that the continuation of the trial was scheduled for September 11th.

Vasic also mentioned that today's hearing had been postponed for the same reason as the first time.

"This issue will be discussed when this case reaches the Appellate Court. In that sense, I believe that today, in this trial, a significant procedural violation was committed because you (the media) were denied the right to observe what happened in the courtroom. On the other hand, the judge also prohibited any discussion about it. Today's hearing was not held for the same reasons as the previous time, and it is scheduled for September 11th," Vasic said.

As a reminder, the previous hearing was canceled because the Prosecution did not provide the attorney with complete documentation about the case.

Sladjan Trajkovic's wife, Suzana, emphasizes that this is clearly a political issue and that her husband is suffering innocently in prison.

"The fact that the trial was closed to the public indicates one thing - they do not have sufficient evidence, and everything is being done unlawfully and unjustly. This is all a political issue, and the worst part is that Sladjan is suffering while being innocent. Without any evidence, he continues to languish in their prisons. This is pure discrimination, first against Sladjan's defense, then against Sladjan himself, and all of us. It seems like a great injustice to us as a family. We are not interested in political matters; Sladjan was arrested because of someone's interests, and I hope that will be proven. All I can say is that they should fear God and nothing else," Suzana Trajkovic said.

Trajkovic was arrested on December 15th last year in the Bosniak Mahala neighborhood in North Mitrovica and has been in custody since then.

The Specialist Prosecutor's Office of Kosovo has brought charges of war crimes against the civilian population during the period from 1998 to 1999 in the village of Reznik in the municipality of Vucitrn and surrounding villages against the accused Sladjan Trajkovic.

Trajkovic, together with other colleagues, resigned from the Kosovo Police in early November last year as a protest against the violence that the authorities in Pristina were conducting against Serbs in the north.