Not even 1.000 days since the Kosovo Serb opposition leader Oliver Ivanovic was killed in the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica, neither the perpetrator nor the person who ordered the murder is known.
In the indictment of the Kosovo Special Prosecutor's Office, which was read in Albanian and Serbian at the hearing on February 11, 2020, it is stated that "a criminal group led by Zvonko Veselinović and Milan Radoičić is responsible for the murder of Ivanovic".
The two are on the run from the Kosovo authorities, and the six people on the dock are charged with aiding and abetting the murder, as well as with a number of other crimes.
All six pleaded not guilty to participating in this crime. Ivanovic was shot dead on January 16, 2018, in front of the office of his party - Citizens' Initiative "Freedom, Democracy, Justice".
In the meantime, in September 2020, the indictment was returned for retrial, based on the decision of the Court of Appeal of Kosovo, which accepted the appeals of the defense of the accused.
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On Monday, October 12, in the evening hours in Belgrade, the action "A thousand candles for Oliver Ivanović" will be organized in front of St. Mark's Church, which will mark 1.000 days since the murder.
"1.000 candles for 1.000 days of silence"
Ivanović's former colleague in the party, Marko Jakšić, announced via social networks that the symbolic gathering "1000 candles for 1000 days of silence" will also take place in Kosovska Mitrovica.
He left the party in September of last year when President Ksenija Božović decided to put the initiative on the joint list "Srpska lista - Aleksandar Vučić".
Jakšić has now invited admirers of the murdered politician to gather at 18 pm tomorrow in front of the office where Ivanovic worked and where his SDP was headquartered, reports Kossev.
"I hope that all of Oliver's friends, acquaintances, admirers of his political legacy, but also all other people of good will from this city and the surrounding area who miss him and who consider that the thunderous silence regarding his liquidation is unacceptable, will join us," he said. Jaksic.
Where is the case at the moment
On September 25, 2020, based on the appeals of the defense of the accused for the murder of Oliver Ivanovic, the Court of Appeal made a decision to return the case to the beginning, the defense attorney of the accused Silvana Arsović, lawyer Jovana Filipović, confirmed for RTV Kim.
"In this case, it means that the indictment has not yet been confirmed," says Filipović, adding that the Prosecutor's Office is now obliged to bring it into line with the Criminal Procedure Law - it is necessary to determine the time, place and manner of the commission of the criminal offense and confirm whether it is founded doubts that the persons accused of criminal acts have really committed them.
In the decision of the Appellate Court, it is stated that the previous decision rejecting the requests for dismissal of the indictment and the objection to the evidence submitted by the defense of the accused is revoked, she adds.
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"The case is returned for retrial and decision," says Filipović.
He adds that in the explanation of the decision it is stated that the indictment is contradictory, that it is not in accordance with the existing evidence, and that it is not possible to act on such an indictment considering the legal qualification of the criminal offense of organized crime, aggravated murder, assisting in the commission of the criminal offense of aggravated murder.
The lawyer defending the police officer, Dragiša Marković, in the case of the murder of Oliver Ivanovic, said in a telephone statement to RTV Kim that the decision of the Court of Appeal is only a confirmation of what the defense has argued as a thesis from the beginning.
"In the indictment, nor in the investigation, there were never any elements indicating that there was any organized criminal group in the North of Kosovo and that a non-existent criminal group did what it did.
"The appeals court in a way said that there are no elements for the existence of a limited criminal group, nor elements of helping the defendants in the murder of politician Oliver Ivanovic," he said.
Who was on the indictment?
In the dock are four members of the Kosovo police - the first accused Nedeljko Spasojević, Dragiša Marković aka Limaj, Žarko Jovanović and Rade Basara.
Also accused are Marko Rošić, who has a police record, as well as Ivanović's secretary and close associate, Silvana Arsović.
The six defendants are charged with participation in or organization of an organized criminal group, abuse of position or official powers, assistance in the commission of the crime of aggravated murder, unauthorized possession of weapons, disclosure of official secrets and falsification of evidence.
The defendants Spasojević, Rošić, Arsović and Marković pleaded not guilty at the hearing for the crimes they are accused of, reports Kossev from the scene,.
However, Spasojević pleaded guilty to illegal possession of weapons, as did Marković.
Watch the video: Two investigations into the murder of Oliver Ivanovic
Rade Basara also pleads not guilty, stating that at the time of Ivanović's murder, and until February 23, 2018, he was in Croatia.
Žarko Jovanović pleaded not guilty to the first two counts of the indictment.
The court made a decision to accept the guilty pleas of the two defendants for the criminal offense of illegal possession of weapons, but also that the verdict will be passed when it is also for all the criminal offenses charged against them.
Ivanovic's associate Silvana Arsović was accused of assisting in the commission of the crime of aggravated murder.
The indictment states that Arsović was aware that the security cameras in the party's offices were turned off, and that these cameras were then turned on shortly after the murder.
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Instead of prosecutor Sulj Hodža, prosecutor Bljerim Isufaj was present at the hearing.
Hoxha did not even attend the initial hearing scheduled for December 30.
The trial was supposed to start then, but it was postponed because two days earlier, Hoxha changed the original indictment.
What does the Kosovo Prosecutor's Office say?
The indictment for Ivanović's murder by the Special Prosecutor's Office in Pristina, as he reported Javno.rs, did not reveal many new details about the assassination itself, but it did give a broader picture and shed light on the atmosphere in which the crime was planned and carried out.
In this document, obtained by investigative journalism network BIRN, the intertwining of relationships and connections between criminals, politicians and institutions is shown in detail.
"During the phase of the investigation and collection of material evidence for the case of the murder of Oliver Ivanovic, we believe that the murder was carried out for political reasons and by a criminal group organized and led by Milan Radoičić," the original indictment states verbatim. Insider in the announcement of the show An imperfect crime.
Radoičić was not charged because, according to Kosovo laws, this is not possible until the suspect has been formally questioned. More specifically, trial in absentia is not allowed.
Zvonko Veselinović is also mentioned as the organizer of the criminal group, but he is not linked to the murder of Ivanović.
The court in Pristina ordered the issuance of international warrants for two suspects - for Radoičić on suspicion of the murder of Oliver Ivanović and organized crime, and for Veselinović on suspicion of organized crime.
What sa Theywhatever are they not on the indictment?
Only those who are available to the Kosovo judiciary were included in the indictment.
It is also stated that this criminal group saw Ivanovic as a political rival among the population of the northern part of Kosovo, reports Javno.rs.
The Prosecution also assesses that the accused members of the criminal group carry out the orders of the Government of Serbia in the north of Kosovo and organize attacks on the institutions there.
Rošić is said to have followed Ivanović's "every step" before the murder, and later his brother Miroslav.
Jovanović and Marković, who came to the investigation with the first accused Spasojević, were accused of manipulating the evidence found at the scene of the murder.
Arsović suspects that she was aware that the cameras in front of the party headquarters were turned off, and that she turned them on immediately after the murder.
The secret of a car
The prosecution in Pristina stated that the perpetrators of the murder fired six shots at Ivanovic from an Opel Astra car.
This car is, according to the answer Insider from the Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime in Belgrade, sold in mid-2016 in Serbia.
Allegedly, it previously belonged to a Serbian citizen who lived in Austria for a long time, according to the Prosecutor's Office, which has been conducting the preliminary investigation since the day of the murder.
Serbian police director Vladimir Rebić also spoke about the search for the owner of the vehicle immediately after the murder, stating that the car changed owners several times.
It is also not known where this car came from in Kosovo.
Chronology of events
2018. years
- 16. January - Ivanovic was shot dead in front of the party office in the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica.
- 18. January - He was buried in the Alley of meritorious citizens at the New Cemetery in Belgrade.
- 19. January - The Kosovo police, through Interpol, forwarded a request to Serbia for cooperation and exchange of information regarding the murder.
- 25. January - The Minister of Justice of Serbia, Nela Kuburović, stated that she did not receive any information about the murder from Pristina.
- February 2 - The State Prosecutor of Kosovo, Aleksandar Ljumezi, stated that the judicial authorities of Serbia have not submitted the information they have about the crime.
- July 19 - The President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, said that the Kosovo institutions are working to shed light on the murder of Ivanovic and that they will come out with "concrete results that will give many a headache, both in Kosovo and in Belgrade".
- July 22 - "For the first time, we have some operational information, although we are not allowed to conduct an investigation in any way," said the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić. At that time, he named several Albanians who are linked to the murder, but did not present evidence for these claims. .
- November 23 - Members of the special Kosovo police ROSU arrested three and detained another person for opposing the police. They were also looking for a fourth person - Milan Radoičić, vice-president of the Serbian List. The police did not find him in the house where he lives.
- November 26 - Members of the MUP of Serbia spoke with Milan Radoičić about his knowledge of the murder of Oliver Ivanovic. Vučić then said that the police can confirm that Radoičić did not commit the murder. On the same day, Silvana Arsović, the secretary of Oliver Ivanović, was detained by the police in Kosovo. She was released from custody the next day.
2019. years
- 14. January - A mural with the image of Ivanović appeared in Belgrade, with the words: "You cannot live in an atmosphere of fear".
- 16. January - One year after the murder, there is still no official information about the perpetrators and the perpetrators.
- July 3 - "We think we have the name of the killer, the perpetrator. Albanians don't have it. We are trying to find material evidence and to go public," said Aleksandar Vučić.
- November 21 - The Kosovo police, after 22 months of investigation, are asking for the public's help in identifying two people whom they claim are suspects in the case of Ivanović's murder, and who, they claim, were filmed in the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica that day. Vučić announces that these are students who were interrogated after they reported themselves to the Serbian authorities.
- December 2 - The Special Prosecutor's Office of Kosovo filed an indictment against six persons accused of involvement in the murder.
- December 3 - Ivanović's party believes that "the solution is not to file an indictment without any evidence". "Among the persons against whom the indictment was brought is Silvana Arsović, Oliver Ivanović's closest associate and most sincere friend, which is a total absurdity," said party vice president Ksenija Božović, who participated in early Kosovo elections in October 2019 together with Srpski list.
- December 20 - Indictments were handed over to those accused of involvement in the murder of Ivanovic and their lawyers.
- December 30 - The hearing before the Special Court of six Serbs accused of participating in the murder was postponed to February 11, 2020. The reason is that two days earlier the prosecutor submitted a new, amended indictment, which was not translated into Serbian.
2020. years
- February 11 - A preliminary hearing was held where all the suspects pleaded not guilty.
- February 22 - The court in Pristina canceled the custody of Dragiša Marković, one of the suspects for participating in the murder of Oliver Ivanović, with the obligation to report regularly to the police station. Silvana Arsović and Žarko Jovanović were later released from detention.
- March 16 - The trial was interrupted due to the corona virus pandemic.
- Jun - Marko Rošić's defense attorney, lawyer Mahmut Haljimi, filed an appeal against the motion to confirm the indictment. He filed an appeal with the Court of Appeal in Pristina.
- September 25 - Based on the appeals of the defense of those accused of the murder of Oliver Ivanovic, the Court of Appeal made a decision to return the case to the beginning.
What does Serbia say?
"It is not in Pristina's interest to find out the truth about the murder of Oliver Ivanovic, because otherwise they would have already discovered the masterminds and the killers," said Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić, after the indictment was returned in September 2020.
Brnabić said that "justice will come sometime and that murder will not be forgotten".
She said that, "unfortunately, the investigation must be conducted in Pristina" and reminded that Belgrade asked to participate in it, which is not allowed, and that it appealed to both UNMIK and EULEX to investigate the murder of Ivanovic, to come to the truth and to punish the perpetrators.
"Unfortunately, from Pristina, you only have silence on that topic.
"We will not forget that topic and we will continue to search for the truth and to search for who the killers are and why Oliver Ivanovic was killed." And if it lasts 10 years and if it lasts 100 years we will not forget. Justice will be served at some point," said the Prime Minister of Serbia.
The former director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, the new ambassador of Serbia to the USA, Marko Djuric he assessed in February 2020 that the indictment represents the continuation of "an organized manhunt, with the aim of blaming the Serbian people in Kosovo and Serbia for that crime".
Đurić stated in a written statement that the ultimate goal of the indictment is "to weaken the position of Serbs in the province and delegitimize Serbian representatives".
The President of Serbia has emphasized the innocence of Radoičić several times in two years.
"Milan Radoičić is not a flower, but I can say with certainty that he is not connected with the murder of Ivanovic," he said. Vučić in July 2019.
This, he said, was confirmed through various methods of questioning, checking and monitoring Radoičić.
Radoičić himself stated in a written statement to the media that he will not surrender to the Kosovo authorities, because they did not come to "arrest him alive".
"I was not the closest friend of Oliver Ivanović, but I am not a murderer and I have nothing to do with the murder," stated Radoičić.
What does Kosovo say?
The President of Kosovo stated at the end of 2018. to be the main suspect "they are in Belgrade" for the murder of Ivanovic.
"Based on the information I have, although the authorities are divided, the investigation is at a very important stage.
"The main suspects are in Belgrade, and we still have to work with international actors to make Belgrade cooperative, so that it does not turn into a haven for the suspects in the murder of Oliver Ivanovic," said the former president of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci.
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