Five years after the murder of Oliver Ivanovic, one of the leaders of the Kosovo Serbs, the truth about this crime is still no closer than the previous ones, even though the court process is ongoing.
In 2018, shortly after eight o'clock in the morning, Ivanovic was shot several times in the back in Kosovska Mitrovica and succumbed to his injuries in the hospital.
The direct perpetrators and instigators are still unknown.
"For five years we have not moved from the deadlock - we are still tapping in the dark," says Aleksandar Ivanovic, the nephew of the murdered Ivanovic, for the BBC in Serbian.
"We owe that to the passive position of Belgrade, but also to the institutions of Pristina, which are clearly not up to the task, as evidenced by the events of the year behind us," Ivanović adds.
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In February 2020, the Kosovo Special Prosecutor's Office accused a criminal group allegedly led by Zvonko Veselinović and Milan Radoičić of the crime.
They are often referred to as "controversial businessmen" from the north of Kosovo and people who have great influence there.
The trial, launched in July 2021, is being conducted against six people accused of being members of that group, but not against Veselinović and Radoičić, because Kosovo laws do not allow proceedings to be conducted in absentia.
There is no cooperation with institutions in Belgrade, while political leaders hardly mention the importance of uncovering the killer.
A parallel investigation is being conducted by institutions in Serbia at the same time, but it has not progressed far - from the Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime for Insider they state that the pre-investigation procedure is still ongoing.
During five years of investigation and trial, the Kosovo and Serbian authorities announced that the circumstances of the murder were known, announced a quick resolution of the case, but also accused each other.
Below, the three most important details from the current course of the trial for the murder of Oliver Ivanovic before the Kosovo institutions.
1. Waiver of protected witnesses
During 2022, several protected witnesses refused to testify before the court.
Witness A1 gave it up at the hearing on May 25, claiming that he was "scared for his life and that of his family", RTS reported.
The same thing happened on July 22 with the anonymous protected witness B1, who stated that the Serbian list threatens his life and the life of his family.
"I was told by the Serbian police that 'point by point they are talking about your head', so please understand that I can't," the witness stated.
Serbian List is a political party that represents Serbs in the Kosovo parliament and that closely cooperates with the authorities in Belgrade.
Radoičić, the alleged leader of the group involved in the murder of Ivanović, is a high-ranking official of this party.
"I can't express myself, I want to, but I can't, understand me", said witness B1 , reports Kossev.
Special prosecutor Burim Cerkini said at the time that he would take actions to investigate the threats and intimidation that forced the witness not to testify.
However, the same thing happened on October 18 with protected witness B3.
"I have to inform you that due to personal safety I am unable to make a statement," said witness B3 via video link. , RTS reported.
Valjon Kurtaj, the chairman of the court panel, asked the witness to explain the reasons for withdrawing, to which he replied that "he must not".
As he said, his identity is "no longer hidden", and he wants to discuss the details with the judge in private.
The lawyers of some of the defendants pointed out that the prosecution is responsible for revealing the identity of protected witnesses, which indirectly revealed their identity by publishing information about where they work, what they are by profession and other information.
In addition, one witness changed her testimony.
We are talking about RR from North Mitrovica, the mother of a boy who was killed in that city in 2014.
Called as a witness because of the statement given to the Prosecutor's Office on December 10, 2018, when she said that the group linked to the murder of her son was also connected to the attack on Ivanovic, and that the orderer was the same.
However, in February 2022, she did not confirm that statement, stating that she forgot what she said, and that she does not know most of the accused.
Aleksandar Ivanović believes that all this "confirms the thesis that has been felt since the very beginning".
"Behind the murder and the whole act is someone very powerful, an individual or a group," he says.
"It's a combination of politics, crime and similar things that obviously has the potential to have so much influence in obstructing the proceedings."
2. Accused - another arrest
In October 2022, Milan Mihailović from Leposavic was arrested.
He is suspected of being "a member of an organized criminal group, actively participating in the execution of the criminal offense of participating in the organization of an organized criminal group... (involved) in the murder of Oliver Ivanović, together with other suspects". it is stated in the announcement of the Special Prosecutor's Office.
"The suspect has been on the run since 2019, even though an arrest warrant was in effect," the statement added.
Mihajlović is one of ten Serbs from the north of Kosovo who in August 2021 were sanctioned by the US Department of Finance due to their alleged connection with international organized crime. writes BIRN.
Zvonko Veselinović and Milan Radoičić are also on that list.
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Due to the suspicion that he participated in the murder of Ivanovic, a warrant was issued for Radoičić, which was withdrawn by the Basic Court in Pristina in March 2021.
According to N1 television, Radoičić escaped arrest in 2018 for being linked to the murder of Ivanovic. as well as in February 2022 in connection with the "Brezovica" case, due to corruption and illegal construction.
In the meantime, he attended meetings of political representatives of Kosovo Serbs with the Serbian state leadership, as well as events of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party in Serbia.
President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić stated in 2019 that Radoičić "is not a flower", but that he did not participate in the murder of Ivanovic in any way.
Marko Rošić, Silvana Arsović, Oliver Ivanović's secretary, Rada Basar and Nedeljko Spasojević are accused of participating in the joint criminal enterprise in which Ivanović was killed.
Police officers Dragiša Marković and Žarko Jovanović were accused of tampering with evidence.
All pleaded not guilty.
There was a long wait for the start of the trial, the indictment was changed several times and the whole process stalled for more than three years.
Aleksandar Ivanović believes that only political will is needed to solve the whole case.
"From this time distance, what was evident at the start has only been confirmed - this is a politically motivated murder, in which some political and criminal circles participated which are intertwined and which act in synergy in Kosovo," he says.
"Oliver was bothering them on the field and that's the reason why the decision was made to liquidate him."
Rada Trajković, a politician from Kosovo, previously told the BBC in Serbian that Ivanović's case was not resolved because of "the connection between the Serbian and Kosovo security, political and state structures".
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3. Testimonies
The beginning of 2023 was supposed to bring new testimonies, but the testimony of Milena Popović, Oliver Ivanović's wife, was postponed to February 22 and 23.
Popović agreed to an interview for the BBC in Serbian on the occasion of five years since the murder of Ivanovic, but it did not happen even after many calls and messages.
During 2022, Stanko Adžić, Ivanović's godfather, as well as Miroslav Ivanović, Ivanović's brother, testified.
In the meantime, they are two policemen also testified, including the father of one of the accused, also a policeman.
- About security cameras
Adžić specifically talked about the security cameras near the premises of Ivanović's Civic Initiative "Freedom, Democracy, Justice" (GI SDP).
Ivanovic was killed right in front of the party premises, and the footage from the cameras has never been found.
"The last time I was in the office was on January 6, when I brought the Christmas tree," Adžić stated. , reported Fonet.
"As I recall, the cameras were working because the light on them was on, and Oliver texted me that I was early with Christmas."
Christmas tree is a traditional Christmas tree that Orthodox Christians bring into the house and then light on Christmas Day for health and well-being.
Adžić then stated that Ivanovic always controlled the operation of the security cameras and that he never complained that they were not working.
Aleksandar Ivanovic says that his family has been insisting on the issue of cameras since day one.
In addition, he added, it is disturbing to know that Serbs are in control of those cameras, that Serbs make up the local police in the north and that Serbian security services operate in that area.
"That's why the question arises - who is powerful enough to remove all those recordings", says Ivanovic.
- About threats
In April 2022, Miroslav Ivanović talked about the threats Ivanović received, as well as other circumstances that preceded the murder.
He said before the court that he had no information on who killed his brother, who, he says, was a political opponent of many.
He also stated that his brother had the biggest conflict with Srpski list, and for the position of mayor of North Mitrovica.
As he said, Radoičić and Veselinović were informal centers of power in the north of Kosovo, which is what the murdered politician was talking about.
His brother, he says, did not talk about threats, but the family noticed from talking to other people that something was happening and that "there is something, some pressure".
"There were always mentions of members of the Serbian List, the political orientation to which Milan Radoičić's group was attached, which helped them in those days," Ivanovic stated. , and he transferred N1.
"It is about a group with criminal characteristics, a group of people who are not from Mitrovica, who have striking physical appearance, and whom the population of the city was afraid of."
Witness A. J, who deals with politics. he also talked about the threats of the Serbian List before the 2017 elections, stating that Radoičić was its informal leader, local KiM radio reported.
Radoičić, he says, once showed him a gun and told him to "watch what he's doing", which is why for which, as he said, he wore a bulletproof vest from 2017 to 2020.
Ivanović's SDP was the last political rival of the Serbian List in North Mitrovica.
The last time Ivanovic participated in the elections for mayor of Mitrovica was in 2017, when he won 16 percent of the vote.
At that time, a negative campaign was conducted against him in the media close to the Serbian authorities.
Serbian officials, such as the then director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Marko Đurić, said that a vote for him was actually "a vote against the interests of the Serbian people and a vote for breaking Serbian unity."
Television spots against Ivanovic aired on Pink television attracted special attention.
Željko Mitrović, owner of Pink TV, during a debate in 2022 he stated that they will "check who rented the slot" for the video about Ivanovic.
Before those elections, Ivanovic's car was set on fire, and a few months later he was killed in front of his party's premises.
Since then, the Serbian list has had no competitors and has won absolute power in all Kosovo elections with around 90 percent of the votes.
Špetim Gashi, a political analyst from Pristina, told the BBC earlier that the murder of Oliver Ivanovic "silenced the opposition voices" in the north of Mitrovica.
"There is still speculation about who is behind the murder, whether someone is hiding evidence, what about street cameras, who is hiding it, but people are more cautious...
"They don't talk about it that much in public."
- About the note from Ivanović's wallet
During his testimony, Miroslav Ivanovic also spoke about the note found in Oliver Ivanovic's wallet after the murder.
He says that the note was handed to him a few days later by his brother Milen's wife.
The registration number of a car was recorded on it and, as he says, not in his brother's handwriting.
"I handed that note to the group of investigators who were working in Mitrovica on the occasion of the murder," stated Miroslav Ivanovic.
"Obviously someone gave him that note, assuming that someone wanted to warn him about that vehicle - the registration number he wrote was KM 014 FZ.
"I think the note also said 'Santa Fe,' the make of the vehicle."
That vehicle, he says, was seen several times parked in front of the restaurant Grey in the north of Mitrovica, owned by Milan Radoičić.
However, as he said, he does not know who is the owner of that vehicle.
Interview of Boban Bogdanović
He caused a lot of attention during 2022 interview of Boban Bogdanović for the portal KRIK.
Bogdanović is a childhood friend of Aleksandar Gligorijević Puki, who was killed in 2020. The criminal clan of Veljko Belivuk, of which Gligorijević was a member, is suspected of the murder.
Bogdanović claims that on March 7, 2020, Gligorijević told him who the organizers and principals of the murder of Oliver Ivanović were, as well as who was the direct executor.
"Oliver Ivanović was killed by Ljubomir Lainović, he is the son of former fierce Novi Sad guy Branislav Lainović Dugo," said Bogdanović.
"The man who organized and prepared the logistics is Milan Radoičić. The man who ordered the murder is Zvonko Veselinović."
As he says, it was Veljko Belivuk, through Gligorijević, and on the order of Veselinović, who paid the murderer 50.000 euros for the murder.
"When he paid him that money, it was in Novi Sad in some club, he says this kid blew his nose and said to him: Do you know what you gave me the money for?"
"Puki told him that he had no idea, that it was his to hand over to him.
"Lainović told him that it was because he finished a good job in Kosovska Mitrovica and that he was the one who drilled Oliver Ivanović.
"He used that word drilled," said Bogdanović.
Bogdanović's allegations, President Vučić he called "meaningless lies".
It's Bogdanovic On April 20, he was heard in the Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime about the murder of Ivanovic.
However, he later changed that statement, stating that Lainović was not the one who shot, but a member of the Kavac clan nicknamed Crnogorac.
The Kavački clan is part of the former Kotor clan, which, due to internal conflict, split into two parts - the Kavački and the Skaljar clan, which today are considered the most powerful in the underground of the entire region, and in whose internecine war a large number of people have been killed in recent years.
What next?
Aleksandar Ivanovic gives the same answer to that question as in previous years - that his family will not stop looking for those responsible.
"Unfortunately, however, the family's hands are now tied - we are now victims of a chess setup and all we have to do is wait," he says.
"But we must not give up, the only thing that is in our hands is that this case falls into oblivion, because Oliver did not die in a traffic accident".
He says that it is important "for future generations and everyone who lives in this area to know who are the people who make the decision to kill someone, who approves and implements it".
He is convinced, he adds, that the case will be solved at some point, but he does not know exactly when.
Everything depends on the political atmosphere and environment, he repeats.
"Unfortunately, we have been forced to wait for five years," says Aleksandar Ivanovic.
"Whether we will wait another five, I don't know, but one thing I know for sure - we will not surrender."
More than hetrten years after the declaration of independence, Kosovo was recognized by about 100 countries. However, the exact number is not known.
Pristina cites a figure of 117 countries, and in Belgrade they say that there are far fewer.
Among the countries of the European Union that have not recognized Kosovo are Spain, Slovakia, Cyprus, Greece and Romania, and when it comes to world powers, they are Russia, China, Brazil and India.
Since 2008, Kosovo has become a member of several international organizations, such as the IMF, the World Bank and FIFA, but not the United Nations.
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