A Kosovo court acquitted Milorad Zajic, a Serb former policeman, of involvement in the killing of two people and of expelling ethnic Albanians from a village during the war in 1998.
The Basic Court in the Kosovo town of Peja/Pec on Friday acquitted former Serbian policeman Milorad Zajic of war crimes charges.
Zajic was found not guilty of taking part in the killing of two people – one with disabilities – and of forcing ethnic Albanians out of a village in 1998 during the war in Kosovo.
The judges said the reason for the acquittal was the witnesses’ “contradictory” testimonies.
The indictment claimed that during June and July 1998, Zajic took an active role in organised attacks by Serbian forces on the ethnic Albanian village of Dush, near Klina, around 60 kilometres west of Pristina.
The Basic Court in the Kosovo town of Peja/Pec on Friday acquitted former Serbian policeman Milorad Zajic of war crimes charges.
Zajic was found not guilty of taking part in the killing of two people – one with disabilities – and of forcing ethnic Albanians out of a village in 1998 during the war in Kosovo.
The judges said the reason for the acquittal was the witnesses’ “contradictory” testimonies.
The indictment claimed that during June and July 1998, Zajic took an active role in organised attacks by Serbian forces on the ethnic Albanian village of Dush, near Klina, around 60 kilometres west of Pristina.
The prosecution alleged the suspect took part in the attacks as “a member of Serbian police, army and paramilitary [units]”, together with other unnamed Serbs.
He was also accused of putting his house at the disposal of Serbian forces.
Dalibor Jevtic, the deputy president of Srpska Lista, the main Kosovo Serb political party, welcomed the acquittal of Zajic.
“Milorad is finally a free man! Justice is slow but achievable!” Jevtic wrote on Twitter.
