Kosovo, Serbia on charges against each other for probe into Ivanovic assassination

Lawyer and colleagues of the party of the late politician Oliver Ivanovic say they are not being informed of the progress of investigations by Kosovo authorities or Serbia, while Belgrade and Pristina continue to accuse each other of obstructing progress in the matter.

“Belgrade and Pristina condemn each other in their statements, as they did before, giving no new details,” said Ksenija Bozovic from the party Freedom, Democracy and Justice and Ivanovic.

Ivanovic's lawyer, Nebojsa Vlajiq, said he has not received any information from Kosovo investigators and that he has no contact with Belgrade authorities.

There's nothing new. They don't want to talk about it and there's no one to talk to at the Kosovo prosecution,” Vlajq told BIRN.

Oliver Ivanov was killed more than four months ago, on January 16th, in front of his party's offices in the northern town of Mitrovica in Kosovo.

Despite officially agreeing to exchange information on the issue, promised co-operation between Serbian and Kosovo prosecutors never materialised.

Kosovo's Special Prosecutor told BIRN that the Constitutional Prosecutor in Mitrovica submitted four requirements for co-operation in Serbia, demanding data such as wiretap calls, entry and exit calls from Ivanovic's phone and other similar data.

But so far we haven't had any positive answers in this direction. We welcome any co-operation and assistance to shed light on this case that would come from Serbia's competent bodies,”, the Kosovo Prosecutor's Office said in a written reply.

The relevant Serbian prosecutor did not answer BIRN's questions until the time of the news release.

The lack of any apparent progress in the investigation has sparked an exchange of accusations between the governments of Serbia and Kosovo, whose independence is not recognised by Belgrade.

Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister Enver Hoxhaj accused Serbia of wanting “to hide the truth” and “prevented justice”.

Ivanovic's “assassination has roots in Serbian destructive policies and answers are hiding in Belgrade,” Hoxhaj wrote on Twitter.

Serbian Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic responded on Monday, accusing Kosovo of having made no progress in the investigation despite receiving footage of the crime site's security cameras and having “access to possible witnesses” and legal medicine.

“I am sure that a professional and impartial investigation would show that all answers are hidden in Pristina,” Stefanovic told the Serbian news agency Tanjug.

While politicians debate, Ksenija Bozovic said she was increasingly convinced that Ivanovic's killers and those who were ordered to kill politician will never be found.

There is nothing new but both sides swearing at each other in the media,” said Bozovic.

Ivanovic was leader of the party Freedom, Democracy, Justice, which opposed the main Belgrade-backed Serbian party, the Serb List, which is part of the Kosovo government.

The prominent politician had said several times that he and his family had received threats and had sought help from Kosovo, Serbia and others, but without answer.

Ivanovic was seen as a moderate politician supporting co-existence between the Kosovo Serb minority and the Albanian majority.

Before his death, however, he was being retriald for allegations of ordering the 1999 murder of Kosovo Albanians during the war in 1999. He had declared himself innocent.