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Kosovar Authorities Indict 45 People Over Attack That Killed Police Officer
Kosovar authorities have indicted 45 individuals over their alleged roles in an attack last year by ethnic Serbs that resulted in the death of a police officer in the village of Banjska. Among those indicted is Milan Radoicic, the former vice president of the Serbian List party who is currently a fugitive in Serbia, accused of leading and organizing the September 2023 attack.
Prosecutor Naim Abazi stated that those indicted had various roles within their criminal group, including organizing, directing terrorist activities, financing, and money laundering. The investigation, which involved collaboration with national and international law enforcement agencies, was described as the most complex conducted by Abazi’s office.
The indictment was made possible through cooperation with the United States and the European Union, which provided essential support to Kosovar authorities in gathering evidence and conducting investigations. Ehat Miftaraj, executive director of the Kosovo Law Institute, noted that international legal assistance from various countries was crucial due to the lack of available laboratories in Kosovo for examining evidence.
The attack in Banjska involved around 30 ethnic Serb gunmen ambushing a police patrol, resulting in the death of Sergeant Afrim Bunjaku, an ethnic Albanian Kosovar police officer. The gunmen then took shelter in an Orthodox monastery and engaged in a firefight with Kosovar forces, leading to the deaths of three attackers.
While Radoicic claimed responsibility for the attack and subsequently resigned from his position in the Serbian List party, Serbian Chief Prosecutor Nenad Stefanovic downplayed the significance of the indictment against him by Kosovar authorities.
The attack occurred against the backdrop of deteriorating relations between Kosovo and Serbia, as talks between the two sides collapsed and Belgrade, along with its ally Russia, continues to reject Kosovo’s sovereignty following its declaration of independence in 2008.
