Suzana Trajkovic: I am sure that my husband is not guilty of the expulsion of 20,000 Albanians

Suzana Trajkovic, the wife of Sladjan Trajkovic, against whom the Special Prosecutor's Office of Kosovo brought an indictment for alleged war crimes against the civilian population, points out in an interview with "Novosti" that she is sure that her husband is not guilty of the alleged expulsion of around 20,000 Albanians from the vicinity of Vucitrn.

"I wonder if the prosecutor, who brought charges against Sladjan and those false witnesses, has a conscience. Do they believe and fear God? Because, if the witnesses are 'sure' and tell the truth, why did the prosecutor go from house to house to look for them, why didn't they accuse my husband earlier of the misdeeds they are now accusing him of?" Suzana Trajkovic said.

She also asked why they had not allowed her husband's lawyer to listen to the witnesses or for Sladjan to confront them.

"Simply, why and who is bothered by my husband, apart from the fact that he is a Serb, that he left the Kosovo Police, and that they care that as many Serbs as possible are convicted even if they are innocent? That is why we only trust in God's justice, even though deep down I believe that justice will prevail in court and it will be proven that my husband, like most of the arrested Serbs, is not guilty of what the Pristina judiciary is accusing them of," Suzana said and emphasized that she could not even pronounce, let alone to think that her husband was guilty of all that he was being blamed for.

On Wednesday, the Pristina Special Prosecutor's Office indicted Sladjan Trajkovic, a former member of the Kosovo Police, for alleged war crimes against the civilian population in the village of Rezak, in the municipality of Vucitrn, during 1998 and 1999.

Trajkovic was arrested on December 15, 2022, in the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica, and at the end of May his detention was again extended for two months.

He worked in the Pristina police until November 5 last year, when the Serbs from the north of Kosovo decided to leave Pristina's institutions.

"If he committed any crime and did anything against the civilian Albanian population, then why did they admit him to the Pristina police, where he worked since 2013? How did he pass all the necessary checks then, and when he decided to leave the police, then attribute the alleged crimes," Suzana asks.

As she says, she is also worried about her husband's mental state, because she is aware that nothing kills the psyche more than knowing that you are suffering for something that is not your fault.

She also adds that Sladjan's health condition is very difficult, that he has lost a lot of weight, and that he is still not receiving adequate therapy.

"They threw out the medicine he was taking against cirrhosis of the liver because he supposedly doesn't have those problems, even though a council consisting of three doctors from Kraljevo confirmed that he has that health problem. He also hasn't been taking diabetes medicine for days, and his legs are still in the wounds," Suzana says tearfully.

She says she is powerless to change anything, and that she does not know who else to turn to for help.

Although, as she says, his lawyer will file an appeal to the Court of Appeals against the prosecution's latest attack on her husband, she emphasizes that she is actually most concerned about Sladjan's health.

"Although we complained to the prison administration, they told us that they were not responsible for the work of the prison clinic and that we had to contact the Ministry of Health in Pristina. Unfortunately, international organizations do not react when it comes to Serbian detainees even though their basic human rights have been violated, even though they were arrested neither guilty nor liable, and are in custody, so their guilt is still being proven. My husband refused the visit of the supposed EULEX representative because the members of that mission who wanted to visit him were of Albanian nationality," Suzana says.

Speaking about the Serbs who have been arrested in recent months in the north of Kosovo, Suzana says that they feel bad.

"When I visited Sladjan last week, I also saw several arrested Serbs from Kosovska Mitrovica, coach Lune, Nenad Orlovic, and a few others. It was difficult and painful to watch them because it was obvious that they had lost their spirit. And it is also obvious that they were tortured. However, like them, I know that lies are sometimes stronger and faster, but the truth is more effective and eternal," Suzana says for "Novosti".