Lawyer Ivan Ninić has described last week’s first-instance verdict against three Serbs over the Banjska events as not only a legal defeat, but “a profound civilizational and moral collapse of Vučić’s policy of betrayal,” which, he says, has turned northern Kosovo into a testing ground for “dangerous and dirty schemes of enrichment,” while reducing the local population to hostages.
On Friday, a court in Pristina handed down first-instance sentences to three of the 45 Serbs indicted by the Kosovo Special Prosecution for their alleged involvement in the Banjska incident.
Blagoje Spasojević and Vladimir Tolić were sentenced to life imprisonment, while Dušan Maksimović received a lesser sentence of 30 years.
Officials in Pristina broadly welcomed the ruling, stating that the judiciary had acted in defense of Kosovo’s constitutional order and that the decision demonstrated that “no attack on the state of Kosovo will go unpunished.” They also stressed that “justice for Banjska will only be complete when all participants are brought before the court, led by Milan Radoičić.”
On the other hand, Serbian officials and the defense lawyers of the convicted men condemned the verdict, arguing that it was delivered under strong political pressure, without clearly established evidence or individual responsibility.
Four days after the ruling by the Basic Court, reactions from Belgrade have been limited to statements from the Office for Kosovo and Metohija and the president of the Serbian Progressive Party, Miloš Vučević.
“Belgrade Has Not Lifted a Finger”
Ninić pointed in particular to what he described as the absence of any meaningful response from Belgrade.
“This verdict in Priština is merely the final act of a tragic farce in which the foot soldiers pay the price, while the architects of chaos sit in the front rows at state receptions in Belgrade,” he told KoSSev.
While three Serbs face what are effectively life sentences, Ninić noted that Milan Radoičić, whom he described as the “commander” of the operation, “moves freely in Belgrade’s Dedinje district, secures multimillion-euro contracts, and enjoys the protection of the very system that sent him into this venture.”
“For me, this is the clearest possible proof that the authorities in Belgrade knowingly sacrificed these men and abandoned them the moment they became a political liability,” he added.
According to Ninić, the key paradox lies in the fact that a government that insists on Serbia’s constitutional sovereignty over Kosovo “has not lifted a finger” to protect the convicted men, nor initiated any serious legal proceedings in Belgrade.
“On the contrary, our intelligence services and judiciary are pretending nothing is happening, while the truth about who ordered, armed, and logistically supported the Banjska operation is treated as a state secret of the highest order,” he said.
“A Chilling Message to Serbs in the North”
Ninić argued that the case sends a deeply troubling message to Serbs in northern Kosovo:
“You will die for us, you will rot in prison for us, and in the meantime we will negotiate new deals on electricity and license plates with those persecuting you, helping them finalize the construction of their state.”
He concluded that the issue goes beyond a legal defeat, describing it as a moral failure of the current leadership.
“This is not just a legal loss—it is a moral bankruptcy of a policy that has turned northern Kosovo into a playground for dangerous and corrupt schemes, while reducing its people to hostages.”
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