The Prosecutor's Office in Rožaje has opened two cases regarding the incidents at Štedim.

The head of the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Rožaje, Aldin Kalač, said that they had opened two cases regarding the incidents in Štedim in July 2024 and August this year, when the cable car cabins at the Hajla-Štedim Ski Center were damaged by firearms.

According to witnesses, the shots came from the direction of Kosovo, but as Kalač told TVCG, to this day they have not received any feedback from Kosovo institutions about the actions taken to verify these testimonies and possibly find the perpetrators.

Kalač recalled the incident from July 23 last year, when they were informed by officers of the Rožaje Security Department that firearms had been used on Mount Štedim, and that several projectiles had hit the cabin of the Štedim-Hajla Ski Center, which is being built on the territory of our country. The same situation occurred on August 24 this year, when several projectiles hit the cabin of the ski lift.

"The Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Rožaje has opened two cases regarding these events against unknown perpetrators for the criminal offense of illegal possession of weapons and explosives and the criminal offense of causing general danger. We immediately requested that the officers of the Police Directorate take all measures and actions within their jurisdiction to identify these persons, obtain valid evidence, and so that the prosecutor's office could prosecute the aforementioned persons," said Kalač, according to the RTCG portal.

During the police investigation into the first incident, certain traces were recorded, which were the subject of appropriate expert examination at the Forensic Center in Danilograd.

"At the prosecutor's office's order, police officers questioned several people who were in the area when the first incident occurred. All of these people confirmed that they heard certain shots and that these shots came from the territory of Kosovo. These were workers who were engaged in the construction of the future ski resort. Police officers found damage to the cable car cabin at the time. Certain traces originating from the projectile were removed and all were subject to expert examination at the Danilograd Forensic Center," explained Kalač.

He adds that the Rožaje police, in cooperation with the border police, immediately contacted their colleagues from Kosovo to help them shed light on the incident or possibly obtain certain evidence in both incidents.

"Unfortunately, to this day we have not received official information from them, whether and what they have done regarding these events," said Kalač.

After a verbal note sent by our officials to Kosovo, information arrived that they were working on these cases, but Kalač points out that they do not have official information about this.

"We do not know what the Kosovo police officers did, whether they found any evidence, we have not yet been officially informed about it. The Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Rožaje will in the coming period contact the competent judicial authority of Kosovo through international legal assistance, i.e. a letter of request, in order to inform us whether the Kosovo police acted on the above-mentioned events, i.e. whether they went to the scene, whether they collected any evidence or possibly whether they discovered the perpetrators of this criminal act," Kalač emphasized.

He adds that he will also request police officers from the Rožaje Security Department to take all measures within their jurisdiction to identify these individuals and obtain valid evidence on the basis of which the Prosecutor's Office could prosecute the suspects.