Three Serbs plead not guilty in trial over armed incursion in Kosovo

Three Serbs have pleaded not guilty in a trial that kicked off in Kosovo on Wednesday against those allegedly involved in an incursion by armed Serb gunmen in September last year.

During the assault, some 30 Serb gunmen killed a Kosovar Albanian police officer before barricading themselves in an Orthodox monastery in Banjska, a village near the Serbian border with Kosovo.

The incident triggered an hours-long gun battle that left three attackers dead in one of the worst clashes since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008.

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti accused Belgrade of involvement in the incident, saying it was part of a larger plan to annex part of Kosovo, for which Serbia should be held accountable.

He also called on the international community to press Belgrade to hand over the rest of the gunmen, who retreated back into Serbia following the 12-hour-long standoff.

Belgrade has denied the allegations, insisting that the gunmen acted on their own.

Controversial businessman charged in absentia

Among those charged in absentia is Milan Radoičić, a politician and wealthy businessman with ties to Serbia’s ruling populist party SNS and President Aleksandar Vučić.

Belgrade said that Radoičić and the paramilitary group involved acted on their own, briefly detaining Radoičić following the shooting on charges including suspicion of criminal conspiracy and unlawful possession of weaponry.

Radoičić, who is under US and UK sanctions for alleged financial criminal activity, denied the charges. However, he admitted that he was linked to the group involved in the gunfight.

Prosecutor Naim Abazi said that the defendants, under Radoičić’s command, tried to help break away the Serb-majority municipalities, particularly in the northern part of Kosovo, and join Serbia proper.

Arianit Koci, a lawyer representing the family of the slain Kosovar officer, Afrim Bunjaku, said he expected the three defendants to be convicted based on “irrefutable evidence”.

Both EU and US officials have demanded that Belgrade help bring the perpetrators to justice, calling on both countries to implement agreements reached in February and March of last year to maintain peace.

These included Kosovo’s commitment to establish a Community of Serb Municipalities in Serb-majority areas, particularly in the north of the country, as well as Serbia’s de facto recognition of its former province.

The trial was held at Pristina’s District Court under tight security, with the three defendants facing charges of violation of constitutional and legal order, terror activities, funding terrorism and money laundering.

If convicted, the gunmen face a maximum sentence of life in prison.