At the Court of Appeal on Monday, during the elaboration of the defense appeal against the decision of the Basic Court in Pristina, by which Miloš Plesković was sentenced to 15 years in prison for war crimes in Prizren, the injured party requested life imprisonment. On the other hand, the defendant's lawyer, Jovana Filipović, said that at the time the murders for which Plesković is charged allegedly occurred, he was in prison.
According to the indictment, during 1998-99 in Prizren, Plesković, in collaboration with a group of armed Serbs, killed three Albanian civilians and injured several others, reports "Oath for Justice".
Initially, the referring judge, Albina Shabani-Rama, announced that lawyer Filipović had filed an appeal against the decision of the Constitutional Court.
Meanwhile, in response to the appeal, Shabani-Rama said that the injured party, the Special Prosecution Office and the Appeals Office, have submitted a proposal proposing that the Basic Court's decision be confirmed.
The representative of the injured party, attorney Gent Gjini, said that the Foundation has correctly established the decisive facts, but that the defendant should be sentenced to a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The injured party, Mihrije Daçaj, said that her twin sons were killed and that 15 years in prison was not enough. She requested life imprisonment.
"They killed two of my boys, almost 15 years in prison. Life should be served," said Daçaj.
Meanwhile, lawyer Filipović had reservations about the Basic Court's decision and said that the Prosecution's investigations were biased.
According to Filipović, the first instance did not collect the evidence that the defense had proposed to be presented. She added that at the time of the acts, Filipović was in prison and not a police officer.
According to the lawyer, it has not been possible to determine the exact location of the crime, as witnesses have mentioned another location, another indictment, and the Court's decision that the crime was committed in another location.
Regarding the anonymous witness, Filipović said that they did not have the statement he gave at their disposal, making it impossible for him to provide effective protection.
During the elaboration of the complaint by the lawyer of the accused Plesković, Jovana Filipović, the injured party - Bashkim Kastrati - reacted, addressing her in Serbian.
But the president of the Appeals Chamber, Judge Mentor Bajraktari, warned the injured party not to repeat this action.
In the end, Judge Bajraktari said that within a reasonable time, the parties will accept the decision.
The Basic Court in Pristina on July 31, 2025, sentenced Miloš Plesković to 15 years in prison for war crimes in Kosovo.
Otherwise, according to the indictment of the Special Prosecution filed on June 7, 2024, it is stated that Miloš Plesković during the years 1998-'99 in Prizren, in complicity with other persons, violated the rules of international law against civilians, by committing the murder of the victims.
According to the indictment, Plesković, operating as an armed group with 7-8 persons of Serbian nationality, on September 1, 1998 in Prizren, while the victims RD, BD, FB, together with the injured Fevzi Cana, Xhenger, were going to their mountain. Cana and Bashkim Kastrati were initially stopped suddenly by the Serbian armed group, who were then insulted with Serbian words, and the accused was also seen among that Serbian armed group Pleskovic.
At one point, according to the indictment, it is said that Pleskovic started shooting with a "Kalashnikov" type weapon, where RD, BD, and FB were killed by the shooting at the scene, while the injured were Xhenger Cana, Fevzi Cana and Bashkim. The castrati had escaped.
Further, in the indictment it is stated that the families of the deceased were allowed to take their bodies a week after the murder, where it is said that the bodies of R. and BD were placed on top of each other, while one of them his leg was cut off, while victim F. did not have his head in his body.
Therefore, for these actions, Plesković was charged with the criminal offense "War crime against the civilian population" sanctioned by Article 142 in conjunction with Article 22 of the Criminal Code of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia as the law in force at the time of the commission of the criminal offense. /Oath for Justice/
