4 hours agoOliver Ivanov's murder: Three years, three lawsuits, still without bias
Periskopi(5 years ago)
(5 years ago)Today, on 16 January, there are three years of the murder of Kosovo Serb politician Oliver Ivanovic, who had founded and headed the Civic Initiative of Freedom, Democracy, Justice (SDP), which was the main subject of the Serb opposition in Northern Mitrovica. But three years later, the assassins or authors of the assassination are still unknown, despite the prosecution's...
Today, on 16 January, there are three years of the murder of Kosovo Serb politician Oliver Ivanovic, who had founded and headed the Civic Initiative of Freedom, Democracy, Justice (SDP), which was the main subject of the Serb opposition in Northern Mitrovica. But three years later, the assassinations or authors of the assassination are still unknown, despite the Kosovo prosecution's establishing three charges so far.
Kosovo's Special Prosecutor had filed the first indictment on December 2nd, 2019. On December 30th, then-prosecutor Sylla Hoxha had filed the second, amended indictment, under which a prepacket hearing was held on February 11th, 2020.
In this trial, accused Nedeljko Spasojevic, Marko Rossic, Rade Basara, Silvana Arsovovic, Dragisa Markovik and Zarko Jovanovic had pleaded innocent to the charges against them, while the remaining three indictees -- Zvonko Veseljinovic, Milan Radojovac and Zelko Bejic -- were on the run.
Three Actuals in Three Years
In November 2020, a new indictment was established, third in a row, after the Court of Appeals in Pristina had rejected the second Special Prosecutor's indictment following the request of the safeguards, who appealed the verdict.
The preliminary hearing, based on the new indictment, has been postponed twice so far.
On December 4th, 2020, it was decided to postpone the hearing for a week for procedural reasons, and on December 11th it was again postponed indefinitely. That is because the judge ruled that the lawyer, Faruk Korenica, could not protect Nedeljko Spasojevicqi because he was Rade Basari's legal representative in the preliminary procedures.
Tome Gashi, current lawyer of Rade Basari, says the new indictment has only just surrendered and that there are no significant changes in it “given that it includes the same persons accused of almost identical crimes”.
“The Court of Appeals has ordered the prosecution to change the indictment, they have done so, but there are no serious changes”, Gashi told Radio Free Europe, stressing that the judgment should start soon.
The “Landa is large and may last months”, Gashi added.
However, lawyer Jovana Fillipovic says that Kosovo Special Prosecution, in the new indictment in the case of Oliver Ivanovic's murder, re-acquired several criminal acts, so that now Silvana Arsovic is accused of serious murder, previously accused of helping commit serious criminal work: murder.
Filipovic is defending accused Silvana Arsovovic, who was secretary to Oliver Ivanovic and who in the new indictment is accused of participating in an organised criminal group and abuse of official office.
Also, in the new indictment, Marko Rosuphe is accused of serious murder. In the preliminary indictment, he was also accused of helping commit serious murder crime and abuse of office.
“In the new Special Prosecution indictment, two new people are also mentioned, who allegedly participated in the organized criminal group. But we do not have the acts or offenses that they are charged with. And for more, it says they are unknown to law enforcement agencies. So, in this explanation, it's said there are these new people, but no new one has been charged with”, says lawyer Filipovic.
Investigation Even in Serbia
In addition to Kosovo, Serbia's Special Prosecutor is investigating the murder of Oliver Ivanovic.
Miroslav Ivanovic, the brother of the slain Oliver, says competent institutions had given big promises in 2018. Among other things, they had assured the family that the results of the investigation would be known very soon and that the perpetrators would face justice.
Until today, none of these promises have been realized. An investigation into the murder is under way in Pristina, but in that indictment there are no names that have carried out the work, names of the orders or direct assistants... Something is going on in Belgrade a little differently, which is pre-emptive. From these developments, I think it's all about putting ash in front of the public, nothing else”, he estimates.
Miroslav Ivanovic, a professional judge, is convinced that it has been possible to do much more when it comes to investigating his brother's murder. As he says, “in various media conferences, states how in a few days the names of the authors of the murder of Brother” will be published.
The murder was carried out in the center of the city in broad daylight, in the presence of a large number of people. He was shot six times. Something like that would have to be discovered in three days and not in three years”, Ivanovic said, adding that Oliver Ivanovic's family, “, is extremely disappointed”.
“Gjykoje yourself, some people's names regarding the context of the murder are mentioned. But I have made the impression that these people are being protected in public, being called on that they are not authors of the work, which is extremely unusual, rather than revealed whether they are guilty or not. This goes only in favour of the killers and those who ordered it, because time passes, the evidence is relatable, and the facts are forgotten”, adds Miroslav Ivanovic.
