Charges against Pristina’s Banjska have no relevance

BELGRADE – The Attorney General of the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade, Nenad Stefanovic, stated on Wednesday that from the point of view of the legal system of the Republic of Serbia, an indictment brought by the so-called Kosovo Special Prosecutor’s Office against 45 people over the armed clashes last year in Banjska near Zvecan in Kosovo-Metohija has no relevance whatsoever.

In the indictment filed earlier in the day, the group was accused of terrorism and crimes “against constitutional order and security” as well as “terrorist financing and money laundering”.

In a statement to Tanjug, Stefanovic said that the territorial integrity of Serbia, including Kosovo-Metohija, is guaranteed by UN Security Council Resolution 1244, and noted that the institutions of the so-called Kosovo do not have the authority to conduct any proceedings, including criminal ones.

He pointed out that one of the defendants, Milan Radojicic, was being investigated by the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade on suspicion of having committed three crimes together with several unidentified persons: association to commit crimes, illegal manufacture, possession, carrying and distribution of firearms and explosives, and serious crimes against public security.

As part of the investigation, the Prosecutor’s Office contacted EULEX through the Serbian Ministry of Justice and requested full documentation of the events of September 24, 2023 in Banjska, Stefanovic said, noting that EULEX had neither provided the documentation nor a response to the request.

Three local Serbs and an officer of the so-called Kosovo Police were killed in the clashes in Banjska.