Serbs unblock court in Kosovska Mitrovica

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA The EULEX Court has sentenced three out of six Serbs for their involvement in violence in March 2008 in Kosovska Mitrovica. Kosovo Serbs, who blocked the First Municipal Court building in northern Kosovska Mitrovica on Thursday morning, have in the meantime unblocked the building. Serbs unblock court in Kosovska Mitrovica Marjan Ilincic, 63, was sentenced to 20 months, Dragan Milojevic, 27, to 18 months and Zoran Cavic, 47, to nine months in prison. Miodrag Ralic, Nebojsa Jovic, Aleksandar Arsenijevic and Avni Krasniqi were acquitted. The convicted men will also have to pay EUR 500 each for the trial costs. Their defense attorneys have announced they will file appeals. The six Kosovska Mitrovica citizens were accused of more than 20 crimes during the March 2008 riots. They were charged with illegal taking over the court, calling for resistance, preventing officers from performing their duty, participation in a group that committed crimes and endangering UN personnel, as well as inciting national, racial, religious and ethnic hatred and intolerance. The court in northern Kosovska Mitrovica was closed after the international forces clashed with Kosovo Serbs. A Ukrainian police officer was killed, 64 UNMIK and 24 KFOR troops and about a hundred Serb protesters were injured in the incident. EULEX Judge Katja Dominik said that the court did not decide on the death of the Ukrainian policeman and that its job was to focus on the crimes the convicted men were responsible of. The Kosovo Serbs unblocked the entrances to the court on Thursday afternoon. They blocked the entrances to the Municipal Court in northern Kosovska Mitrovica around 7:00 CET on Thursday with heavy machines and several trucks. Strong EULEX forces, that arrived in front of the court before 7:00, were prevented from entering the building. Several hundreds of citizens gathered in front of the court, including municipal officials. Kosovska Mitrovica District Head Radenko Nedeljkovic stated earlier on Thursday that he had talked to a representative of the EULEX mission and informed him that they could not be present during the delivery of the verdict because it would be another provocation of northern Kosovo Serbs. “Judges and prosecutors can but not EULEX representatives. They cannot come to the court today,” he said this morning. The EULEX representative said that his superiors decided whether they would attend the trial and not the Serbs. Nedeljkovic told reporters that the citizens had gathered in order to “prevent demonstration of force by EULEX”. Kosovska Mitrovica Mayor Dragisa Vlaskovic said it was in the citizens’ interest to finish the trial but he added that people were upset and scared and that they did not need new provocations. He called on the international forces and the citizens to remain calm. The Serbs stressed they did not want to prevent the court from delivering the verdict and that they only wanted to keep the EULEX officers out of the courtroom. (Tanjug) Beta Tanjug KIM radio

Serbs unblock court in Kosovska Mitrovica

Marjan Ilinčić, 63, was sentenced to 20 months, Dragan Milojević, 27, to 18 months and Zoran Čavić, 47, to nine months in prison. Miodrag Ralić, Nebojša Jović, Aleksandar Arsenijević and Avni Krasniqi were acquitted.

The convicted men will also have to pay EUR 500 each for the trial costs. Their defense attorneys have announced they will file appeals.

The six Kosovska Mitrovica citizens were accused of more than 20 crimes during the March 2008 riots.

They were charged with illegal taking over the court, calling for resistance, preventing officers from performing their duty, participation in a group that committed crimes and endangering UN personnel, as well as inciting national, racial, religious and ethnic hatred and intolerance.

The court in northern Kosovska Mitrovica was closed after the international forces clashed with Kosovo Serbs.

A Ukrainian police officer was killed, 64 UNMIK and 24 KFOR troops and about a hundred Serb protesters were injured in the incident.

EULEX Judge Katja Dominik said that the court did not decide on the death of the Ukrainian policeman and that its job was to focus on the crimes the convicted men were responsible of.

The Kosovo Serbs unblocked the entrances to the court on Thursday afternoon. They blocked the entrances to the Municipal Court in northern Kosovska Mitrovica around 7:00 CET on Thursday with heavy machines and several trucks.

Strong EULEX forces, that arrived in front of the court before 7:00, were prevented from entering the building.

Several hundreds of citizens gathered in front of the court, including municipal officials.

Kosovska Mitrovica District Head Radenko Nedeljković stated earlier on Thursday that he had talked to a representative of the EULEX mission and informed him that they could not be present during the delivery of the verdict because it would be another provocation of northern Kosovo Serbs.

“Judges and prosecutors can but not EULEX representatives. They cannot come to the court today,” he said this morning.

The EULEX representative said that his superiors decided whether they would attend the trial and not the Serbs.

Nedeljković told reporters that the citizens had gathered in order to “prevent demonstration of force by EULEX”.

Kosovska Mitrovica Mayor Dragiša Vlašković said it was in the citizens’ interest to finish the trial but he added that people were upset and scared and that they did not need new provocations. He called on the international forces and the citizens to remain calm.

The Serbs stressed they did not want to prevent the court from delivering the verdict and that they only wanted to keep the EULEX officers out of the courtroom.