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Kosova

Former Serbian policeman sentenced to 15 years in prison for war crimes in Kosovo

Politiko 2025-06-10 21:38:34

Former Serbian policeman sentenced to 15 years in prison for war crimes in

The Basic Court in Pristina has sentenced Zoran Vukotić to 15 years in prison, for war crimes in Kosovo. The conviction was pronounced against Vukotić, after the court found him guilty of the murder of 13-year-old BM, reports Betimi for Justice.

According to the indictment filed in June 2023, Vukotić was accused of acting in violation of the norms of international law in force during the conflict in Kosovo on April 18, 1999, near the city cemetery of Vushtrri, in co-operation with unidentified persons, as a reservist of the Serbian police.

The indictment stated that he co-murdered the 13-year-old BM of Albanian nationality. The victim, along with his uncle's son, had been riding a bicycle when Vukotić and other armed policemen encountered the children. The defendant, according to the indictment, had fired a firearm at the children from a distance of 30 meters, shooting the victim BM in the chest, who died instantly. The other child had managed to escape the shooting and was hiding behind a wall.

The Special Prosecution had filed four war crimes indictments against the civilian population during 1998-1999 against Vukotić, but at the suggestion of his lawyer, they were merged into one case in 2024.

On the other points of the indictment, after the case was joined, the Court said that it found no evidence against Vukotić and he was acquitted of those charges. The Special Prosecution of Kosovo welcomed the conviction against Vukotić, namely for the murder of 13-year-old BM.

However, the Prosecution warned that it would appeal to the Appeal for other points of the indictment, for which the Basic Court found no evidence.

"Z.V., against whom the Supreme Court has confirmed the prison sentence of 13 years for sexual violence during the war, has today been released for another case of sexual violence, for which the SPRK will use the right to appeal to the Court of Appeals. The Special Prosecution will use the right to appeal to the Court of Second Instance, also against the charges related to the murders of civilians in Vushtrri Studies, on May 2 and 3, 1999," the Special Prosecutor's Office said in the announcement.

A conviction was previously handed down against the former Serbian police reservist, Zoran Vukotić. He was sentenced to ten years in prison in 2021 for the criminal offense of sexual violence during the war. This case had been returned for retrial, but in 2022 it was reconfirmed against him. Then in 2023, the Appeal increased his sentence to 13 years in prison.

The indictment stated that Vukotić, as a member of the police forces of the reserve unit of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs, "had participated in the expulsion of the Albanian civilian population, in committing physical and psychological violence against them, as well as with the use of violence and other inhumane actions, had committed sexual violence against a woman of Albanian nationality".

This was the first case convicted of such a crime by Kosovo courts./REL