Three Serbs convicted by Pristina without evidence, witnesses - Serbian gov't office

BELGRADE - The so-called Basic Court in Pristina has convicted Serbs Milun Milenkovic and Aleksandar Vlajic for a non-existent crime of "terrorism" and Dejan Pantic for "hooliganism" in a staged political trial that can be described as a classic case of misuse of the judiciary by Albin Kurti, the Serbian government Office for Kosovo-Metohija said on Monday.

It said the entire trial had been marked by direct interference by Kurti and Pristina's so-called interior minister, who had declared Milenkovic, Vlajic and Pantic guilty even before the trial itself, branding them as some kind of terrorists, without evidence but with the clear objective of having them convicted in order to criminalise the entire Serb population in the north of Kosovo-Metohija.

"Milenkovic is a reputable athlete, a winner of numerous medals, a coach of many young generations, and someone who was brutally beaten up and abused by Kurti's special forces during the arrest itself, of which there is also video footage. However, there is no evidence of his, Vlajic's or Pantic's involvement in the December 2022 events around the Municipal Electoral Commission offices, nor was anyone hurt at that time," the statement said.

Milenkovic and Vlajic each received five-year prison sentences and Pantic was sentenced to two years of imprisonment, while another Serb, Miomir Vakic, was cleared of any wrongdoing.

The four had been arrested on suspicion of committing an alleged terrorist attack on the offices of the Municipal Electoral Commission in northern Kosovska Mitrovica on December 6, 2022, by lobbing two hand grenades and two stun grenades towards them, allegedly causing substantial material damage and threatening human lives.