Vlajic: Kosovo's judiciary has proven that it is unable to conduct a fair trial

Dusko Arsic's defense attorney, who was sentenced to 13 years in prison today by the court in Pristina for committing war crimes, lawyer Nebojsa Vlajic, said he was not surprised by such a verdict and that the Kosovo judiciary had once again proven that it was unable to conduct a fair trial.

Vlajic emphasized that such judgments destroyed the hope of every Serb facing a trial in Kosovo.

"I cannot say I expected such a verdict, but I am not surprised. After today's verdict, even the most well-intentioned observers have lost hope and illusions about the democratic capacity of the Kosovo judiciary. With each subsequent verdict, they convince the public that they are unable to conduct a fair trial. This was the most obvious case among many similar cases where trials for war crimes are held without any evidence, and where there is an obvious connection to property disputes preceding the indictment for war crimes, where a man who has lived in Kosovo for 20 years or more without any issues suddenly faces charges when a property dispute arises," Vlajic stated.

This case and such a non-final verdict, as he noted, destroy the hope of anyone hoping for justice in Kosovo and awaiting trial for a similar matter.

"Anyone who hopes for justice from Kosovo courts is either naive or misinformed," Vlajic said.

As he added, the defense will file an appeal, which will be decided by the Court of Appeals.