07 Nov 14
Brothers Slobodan and Srecko Martinovic and Svetlana Stojanovic were acquitted of mistreating two Kosovo Albanians from the town of Novoberdo during the war in April 1999.
Petrit Collaku
BIRN
Pristina
The district court in Pristina on Thursday cleared former Yugoslav Army cook Srecko Martinovic, his brother Slobodan, a former army driver, and civilian Svetlana Stojanovic of war crimes against Kosovo Albanians Selatin Beqiri and Haqif Demolli.
The case was being retried after the defendants were previously acquitted in 2011.
EU rule-of-law mission judge Vladimir Mikula said there was not enough evidence to support Beqiri’s allegations that he was mistreated by the Martinovic brothers.
“The court regrets that criminal offences against Selatin Beqiri were not properly investigated and the perpetrators are not convicted,” Mikula said.
Beqiri and Demolli said they will file a complaint about the verdict.
“This is illogical. This is not justice. I will complain until I find justice,” Demolli told BIRN.
But Zivojin Jokanovic, the lawyer for Svetlana Stojanovic, expressed satisfaction at the acquittals.
“Justice has been done today,” Jokanovic said.
