Vasic: We will call Kurti as a defense witness for Milenkovic, we hope he will respond

During the hearing of Dragisa Milenkovic from Kisnica, who is charged with war crimes against the civilian population in Kosovo during the period of 1998 and 1999, it was agreed that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti would be called as a defense witness, attorney Dejan A. Vasic said for Kosovo Online.

Vasic expressed hope that Kurti would respond to the call to testify.

"Today, the special prosecutor acting in Pristina questioned Dragisa Milenkovic as the accused, and on this occasion, in cooperation, which has been exceptional from the beginning, I must say, with the prosecuting attorney in this case, we agreed, or rather aligned, on hearing a special defense witness, the current Prime Minister of Kosovo, Mr. Albin Kurti, who was imprisoned when the accused Dragisa worked at the district prison in Pristina. He should, from his side, say a few words about the credibility of the accused and his behavior towards the current prime minister, and former detainee, Albin Kurti, with whom he spent a lot of time in conversations, and brought him books to read while he was in the cell," Vasic said.

The attorney expects the support of the special prosecution regarding this proposal and good cooperation from Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, to whom he will send a request through the Government of Kosovo's office tomorrow for this testimony, thus dispelling any doubt that Milenkovic did anything wrong while working at the District Prison in Pristina.

"I hope that the Prime Minister somehow has a good memory of that period, given that those were some dramatic moments in his life, and I believe that Dragisa will remember. I will, on my part, prepare documentation from that time so that there are no disagreements regarding the identity of the accused," Vasic stated.

As he emphasizes, Kurti is obligated as a citizen to declare himself in a criminal proceeding and to be a witness.

"I am absolutely sure that the prime minister will willingly appear, and I only hope that his memories of that period are still fresh. The Prime Minister is obligated as a citizen to declare himself in a criminal proceeding and to be a witness. He will be heard as a defense witness," Vasic said.

The attorney also pointed out the poor health condition of his client.

"He was taken into custody with chronic ailments, especially related to diabetes and vision problems. Dragisa is practically blind, but his greatest troubles are caused by the two bullets that are still in his body near the spine. These bullets were a greeting from the man who did all this to him and who reported him to the police, entirely baseless and false," Vasic emphasized.

Dragisa Milenkovic was arrested on June 21 in Kisnica, and a day later, he was remanded in custody for 30 days. In the meantime, his detention has been extended for another two months. Kosovo authorities charge him with alleged war crimes against the civilian population during the period from 1998 to 1999.

Due to Dragisa Milenkovic's arrest, protests were held for days in front of the police station in Gracanica.