Anniversary of the wounding of Serbian young men in Gotovusa; Families: It was a bloody Christmas

Tomorrow marks one year since the wounding of Stefan and Milos Stojanovic on Christmas Eve, January 6th, in Gotovusa in the municipality of Strpce. For the families of the wounded young men, it was, they say, a bloody Christmas, while KSF member Azem Kurtaj, who shot them, remains at large.

Fetching the Christmas branch is an important event for all Serbs, as part of the customs preceding the most joyous Christian holiday, Christmas. Last year, for the residents of Gotovusa, the Sirinic region, and especially for the Stojanovic family from Gotovusa, it was, as they say, the worst one yet.

Zvonko Stojanovic, the father of the wounded Milos, emphasizes that even a whole year later, memories of that day are mixed. Most importantly, he says, the children are well and out of danger.

"As we can see, time passes very quickly. It has been a year since the shooting of two children on Christmas Eve in Gotovusa, and one of them was my son. Although a year has passed, the feelings are still mixed; there are emotions, happiness, sadness, joy, everything is still there. Most importantly, the children are well and not in mortal danger. As for the atmosphere in which we welcome our most joyous holiday, Christmas, it is like every year. I hope that the guys, not only from Gotovusa but from the entire Sirinic region, will go again and bring the Christmas branch with happiness, health, and with song, as they always have," Stojanovic said.

For Slavica Milenkovic, the grandmother of twelve-year-old Stefan, it was a bloody Christmas. She says she is grateful to God that her grandson survived.

"Christmas for me last year was a bloody Christmas; we didn't even perform the customs properly, and I hope that this year we will celebrate like all normal people and that there will not be any more of that. That was a terrible day, and to this day, I remember it like that, it was a blow to me as a grandmother. The grandson is fine, he has a scar on his shoulder, close to the heart. Considering the circumstances, it is well, thank God," Slavica emphasizes.

KSF member Azem Kurtaj, who shot Stefan and Milos with a pistol, was released pending trial by the decision of the court in Urosevac. Milos's attorney, Veljko D. Radic, emphasizes that the last hearing was held on March 16, and the case is now before the Court of Appeals.

"If I were to sum up the impressions of the entire process, my expectation was that this criminal matter would proceed quite quickly. However, the last hearing held before the Basic Court in Urosevac was the hearing for the initial appearance, and that was on March 16, 2023, and since that day, neither I, representing Milos Stojanovic, nor my colleague, representing the minor Stefan Stojanovic, have received any summons or written information about the progress and status of the criminal proceedings against the accused Azem Kurtaj. According to the information I obtained from the Basic Court in Urosevac, the case is currently before the Court of Appeals in Pristina, and the accused, Azem Kurtaj, is at large. By a decision on March 16, replacing the detention measure with conditional detention, the measure was lifted after two months, and the accused is now at liberty," Radic said.

Stefan and Milos Stojanovic were shot in Gotovusa when they were returning home from cutting the Christmas branch on January 6. Kurtaj, who shot both young men, fired at them from a vehicle. One was shot in the hand, while the other suffered a gunshot wound to the shoulder.