Judicial review of war crimes indictees, Ekrem Bajrovic, opens again

The chairman of the court, Avni Syla, said at Monday's session that the trial will be re-opened because in the quality of the injured/witter, Naim Elshani will be invited to clarify once again certain circumstances created during this review, reports the “Justice Voctiary”, reports Periscope.

Judge Syla said the Court appreciated that this witness should be invited once again to clarify these circumstances.

The next session was set for another date.

So today it was pre-predestined to declare the case, but the Court praised the reopening of the court review.

Otherwise, the Constitutional Court in Pristina, on July 19th, 2024, accused Ekrem Bajrovic has sentenced him to 12 years in prison for war crimes during 1998-1999 in the municipality of Istog and surrounding villages.

This foundation decision had also been confirmed by the Court of Appeals on May 21st 2025, with which the defence complaint against the first degree of judgment had been rejected. The defence had claimed that the foundation decision was involved in violation of criminal procedure provisions and that it does not contain the crucial facts of the criminal case. According to Appeal, the first-degree court has rightly ruled as in the complaint act.

Yes, the case has been turned into retrial by the Supreme Court, which through the ruling compiled on December 4th 2025, has approved the request for protection of Bajrovic's defence legitimacy, lawyers Ljubomir Pantovic and Milos Delevic.

The Supreme Court has argued that some of the witnesses, in the judicial examination, had stated that they have also issued statements to the authorities of UNMIK and EULEX, which are not found in the subject papers. So they need to be secured and examined by the existing evidence in the subject paperwork.

According to the Special Prosecutor's Act of the Republic of Kosovo, founded on 15 September 2023, Ekrem Bajrovic is charged with committing war crimes against the civilian population, in the municipality of Istog and surrounding villages during 1998-1999.

Bajrovic is charged with being a member of Serbian police and military forces, individually and in co-ordination with other people, having participated and contributed to the application of distress measures of murder, raiding, beating, torture, torture, cruel and inhuman treatment, being held in slavery conditions, deportation and deportation of the civilian population, plunder, destruction and destruction of the civilian population of Albanian national population. /Periscope