The recent confirmation of the one-year prison sentence for the former mayor of Zvecan, Ivan Todosijevic, has once again raised the treatment of Serbs in Kosovo’s judicial system. Additionally, the increasing frequency of arrests and subsequent convictions of Serbs based on indictments for alleged war crimes during the last war in Kosovo, along with “instructed” witnesses who change their testimonies, further cast doubt on this justice – claim for KoSSev a Serb attorney.
Attorney Ljubomir Pantovic, who has represented clients in as many as 15 such cases, believes that every Serb accused of a war crime in Kosovo is assumed to be guilty and convicted. He says that his experience in these cases supports his view and cannot be refuted.
Although he admits that many people disagree with his opinion that every Serb in Kosovo is assumed to be guilty, he insists that he will continue to express this assessment at every opportunity because his experiences have led him to believe that this is indeed the case.
“Having participated in 15 war crime cases between 2000 and today, both with international judges and now, my experience tells me that I am right. We shouldn’t generalize, but understand that I empathize with the people I defend who are unjustly convicted. Their problems affect me as well.”
Pantovic adds that if his experience were to contradict his assessment, he would be willing to retract his opinion.
Of the 15 cases he defended, two stand out as particularly drastic. As the worst example of unjust trials against Serbs, Pantovic highlighted the case of Goran Stanisic, who was convicted of a war crime in the village of Slovinje in the municipality of Lipljan and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
“And that’s even though the maximum penalty for that offense is 15 years. Upon appeal by the defense, his sentence was later reduced to 15 years,” Pantovic adds. He considers this case the most unfair due to the change in witness testimonies, which were different during the investigation, immediately after the crime occurred, and entirely different after his arrest in 2019.
“Two or three key witnesses for the prosecution said during the investigation, which was then conducted by UNMIK and then EULEX, that Goran Stanisic did not participate in the commission of the war crime. In fact, these witnesses named completely different individuals. However, upon his arrest, those very same witnesses approached the prosecutor and said, ‘Yes, Goran Stanisic committed the war crime,’“ he explains.
As a result, Pantovic believes that the court cannot consider inconsistent witnesses as being credible and trustworthy.
“First, they do not mention the man as the perpetrator, and then they say he is guilty. Such a witness is not credible, and yet Stanisic was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison,” Pantovic reiterated.
As another example, he mentioned another client, Zoran Djokic from Pec, which he believes is “perhaps an even more drastic case.”
“In his case, the prosecutor’s indictment collapsed because the key witness said, ‘Another man did it, not Zoran Djokic.’ Then, after all the legal deadlines had expired, the plaintiff’s representative proposed new witnesses. They were obviously instructed, as they came and said, ‘Yes, Zoran Djokic participated in the murder of two men,” Pantovic stated.
In contrast, he singled out only one positive example, the case of Milorad Zajic, whom the Basic Court in Pec acquitted of war crime charges about four years ago.
“That is the only case in which the Basic Court acquitted a Serb of war crimes charges. The indictment was primarily based on the testimony of a protected witness, who later admitted that he had lied,” Pantovic said.
He emphasized that although there may be exceptions, his experience working on war crimes cases involving Serbs in Kosovo has led him to believe that there is a pattern of prejudice against them.
“I do not want to say that all Serbs are innocent or that there are no war criminals among them. There are criminals in every nation. But those who have committed crimes should be held accountable, and innocent people should not be prosecuted and convicted,” Pantovic stated.
He called on the international community to pay attention to the situation and help ensure that the rule of law is upheld in Kosovo for everyone, regardless of their ethnicity.
“In my opinion, the international community should take a more active role in these cases to ensure that justice is served. As a lawyer, I am obliged to fight for the rights of my clients, and I will continue to do so. But we also need the support of the international community to ensure that the rule of law is respected,” Pantovic concluded.
These cases, which have been widely criticized by the Serb community and beyond, raise concerns about the fairness of the Kosovo judiciary system and the treatment of ethnic Serbs accused of war crimes. Critics argue that this apparent bias undermines the rule of law and the prospects for lasting peace and reconciliation in the region.
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