During the first hearing of the court for the terrorist attack in Banjska, the lawyer for the police of the policeman killed in Banjska, Afrim Bunjaku, asked that the three accused in this case be sentenced to life prison. Lawyer Arianit Koci justified this request by claiming that the terrorist attack had been carried out against the whole of Kosovo State. The accused Vladimir Tolic, Blagoje Spasojevic and Dusan Maksimovic, arrested after the attack of a group armed with Serbs led by the former vice-president of the SRPSKA list, Milan Radojicic, pleaded not guilty of accusations of terrorism, financing of terrorism and serious criminal offenses.
The life imprisonment for the three accused of the terrorist attack on September 24, 2023 in Banjska was requested Thursday by lawyer Arianit Koci, who represents the family of the policeman killed in this attack, Afrim Bunjaku, during the first hearing of the court concerning the case, held in the court of first instance of Pristina.
From the start of the hearing, the accused Vladimir Tolic, Blagoje Spasojevic and Dusan Maksimovic, arrested after the attack led by a group armed with Serbs led by the former deputy chief of the SRPSKA list, Milan Radojicic, pleaded non -guilty of accusations of terrorism, financing of terrorism and serious penal offenses.
In addition to them, the accusation act for the most serious terrorist attack that Kosovo has known 41 other fleeing individuals and a legal person, the company (RAD), for which the Pristina court of first instance estimated that there was no legal possibility of undertaking a trial by absentia.
Naim Abazi, the special prosecutor, said during his declaration of opening that the accused had received the support of the State and the policy of the Serbian State structures to carry out the terrorist attack in order to launch the northern secession process, inhabited mainly by Serbs, Kosovo. And while presenting numerous documents on the screen, the prosecutor Abazi said that the guilt of the accused would be unequivocally proven during the trial.
“At the place of his arrest, military equipment and weapons were found. The document extracted from electronic devices also confirms its belonging to the organizational structure. In addition, DNA analysis confirms that the accused Vladimir Tolic had arrived in the village of Banjska aboard his Mitsubishi Pajero, without license plates, filled with dangerous weapons and weapons, “said the prosecutor.
Abazi said that the actions of the accused have jeopardized the essence of the constitutional order in Kosovo.
“It was a clearly planned, long -term, objective attack, the objective of which was clearly to violate the constitutional order of Kosovo and to create a risk of secession from the municipalities of northern Kosovo. The group was organized and armed, and maintained obvious links with the Serbian state structures. This case is not simply criminal, it calls into question the very essence of constitutional order and interethnic coexistence, “he said.
Abazi also showed the screen images of a meeting between Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, the Banjska attack organizer, Radoići, and the former director of the Security and Intelligence Agency (BIA), Aleksandar Vulin, with people he declared in the attack. According to the accusation, the bases of the Banjska attack was laid at this meeting held on October 13, 2021 in Raška.
During Thursday’s hearing, police Mirsad Kryeziu, çlirim Shaqiri and Sead Dushi, who were injured in the 2023 attack, spoke to the court.
“I express my regrets and I feel very saddened by the loss of our colleague,” said Kryeziu.
“I’m sorry that today we miss the hero of Kosovo who celebrated his birthday before yesterday, the 15th,” said police officer Dushi, speaking of Sergeant Bunjaku, killed in Banjska.
Bunjak’s family’s lawyer justified the request for a lifetime prison sentence for the accused, saying that the terrorist attack had been carried out against the entire state of Kosovo.
“It is not a criminal affair, but it is also a matter of state, because our constitution was raped by arms. I demand that the accused be sentenced to life imprisonment; This is the minimum that the wife and children of Afrim Bunjaku deserve, “he said.
The lawyers of the accused expressed reservations about the gaps in the indictment, even if it was confirmed by the Court of Appeal. According to them, the document does not specifically present the actions of each accused or the exact link of their actions with the murder of Sergeant Bunjaku.
And when he made a statement concerning the accusations made against him, the accused Blagoje Spasojevic denied having attacked the police.
“I did not kill anyone or injured anyone. I also had the intention of separating northern from Kosovo and unifying it to Serbia, “said Spasojevic.
A similar position was expressed by accused Vladimir Tolliq.
“I was in Banjska. It’s clear. But the reasons, the motivations for my participation there differ greatly from those of the indictment … Me, Vladimir Tollic, on September 24, 2023, I did not shoot anyone (with a firearm) and I did not have access to explosives, and I say it in all responsibility, “he said. The third accused, Dušan Maksimović, made no additional statements beyond that of his lawyer, Jovana Fillipović, who said that his client was not involved in Banjska’s attack.
“No evidence proves that Dushani is linked to this incident, except that he was born in Banjska – it is not a criminal offense,” said Ajko.
The next hearings concerning this case are planned for June 9, 11, 12 and 13. Sources in the court have declared that the special prosecutor’s office has not yet received the letter in which it is officially announced that the Pristina court of first instance does not see any possibility of trial in absentia of more than 40 accused which are not present, among which is Radojčiqi, because a trial in absentia is not provided for these criminal offenses.
And as they said to the court, the letter which was sent does not represent a final decision, since the special prosecutor’s office can file an appeal in the second and third body of the judiciary.
Dans Le Cadre de L’Attaque Terroriste de Banjska, Le Parquet Special A Acte D’Accusation – Milan Radoicić, Vladimir Tolic, Dusan Maksimovic, Vladimir Jevtić, Milorad Jevtić, Vlastimir Andrić, Aleksandar Milošavljević, Lazar Smigić, Veljko. Đorđević, Vladimir Vučetić, Stefan Jovanović, Uroš Millić, Trajko Vasić, Vukasin Jaredić, Sasa Perić, Momčilo Radojković, Marko Arsić, Zarko Damjanović, Stefan Milošavljević, Stefan Milošavljević, Marko Savić, Aleksandar Jevremović, Rados Gvozdić, Gojko Zubac, Nemanja Radivojevic, Miloš Millovic, Danilo Virijevic, Aleksandar Tanaskovic, Milan Nedeljkovic, Nikola Ilic et Vladan Ilic.
The accusation act accuses them of terrorist acts and acts against the constitutional order and the security of Kosovo. The accusation act stipulates that this group, by the use of violence with heavy weapons, tried to “separate the northern part of the territory of the Republic of Kosovo, namely the municipalities inhabited by a Serbian majority, and to annex this part of the territory to the Republic of Serbia”. Radoicic was identified as the leader of this group, who would have played an important role in coordinating attack and criminal activities. Radoicic is registered on the black list of the United States and the United Kingdom for its links with international organized crime and corruption.
In Kosovo, it is also linked to the murder of a Serbian opponent, as well as the intimidation of witnesses in a trial concerning illegal constructions.
In the accusation act, the prosecution cites 34 evidence files, including video recordings, analyzes of electronic devices, various responses from Luxembourg, Bosnia and Herzegovina, banks and various institutions, declarations of witnesses, etc.
Kosovo authorities qualified Banjska’s attack on terrorist act and accused Serbia of being at the origin.
