The Supreme Court of Kosovo has overturned the final verdict sentencing Baranin Ekrem Bajrović, a citizen of Montenegro, to 12 years in prison for war crimes - the murder of 15 Albanian civilians in the village of Starodvorane. On June 30, the Kosovo Court of Appeals upheld the verdict of the Basic Court in Pristina from July last year.
Bajrović's family members confirmed to "Vijesti" that the Supreme Court accepted the lawyers' appeal and that the case was returned for a new decision. According to the newspaper, his lawyers were provided with the verdict in Albanian, and they will have more information about everything when the translation is provided.
The Supreme Court, according to a source from Bajrović's family, found that previous courts had not offered evidence that would unequivocally confirm his guilt, nor had they described any actions that could constitute a criminal offense.
Bajrović was found guilty by a court in Pristina and sentenced to 12 years in prison for war crimes against the civilian population in Istok and surrounding villages in 1998 and 1999, which his lawyers appealed, and are now announcing an appeal to the Supreme Court.
The Court of Appeal, as stated in the judgment, after analyzing the decision appealed against, together with the case files, assessed the appeal allegations and concluded that the judgment does not contain any significant violations of the provisions of criminal procedure under Article 384 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which are also taken into account ex officio, given that the operative part of the judgment is clear and understandable, while the reasoning provides complete and clear reasons for the decisive facts.
"Therefore, the judgment appealed against does not contain any other violations that would necessitate its mandatory annulment, nor has the criminal law been violated to the detriment of the accused, as claimed by the defense in the appeal," it is quoted in several Kosovo Albanian-language media outlets.
They rejected all points of appeal filed against the verdict of the Basic Court in Pristina.
The indictment of the Kosovo Prosecutor's Office states that Bajrović contributed to criminal acts, such as murder, robbery, beating, abuse, arrest, torture and inhumane treatment of the civilian population. According to the Prosecutor's Office, he was part of the Serbian police and military forces that killed 8 Albanian civilians in the village of Starodvorane on May 1999, 15.
Bajrović's lawyers Miloš Delević and Ljubomir Pantović stated in their appeal to the Court of Appeal that their client's rights were violated. They claim that the reasons given in the explanation of the decision are not clear, which makes the decision incomprehensible and impermissible.
Bajrović's children spoke with several Montenegrin officials and MPs, as "Vijesti" previously wrote, including Filip Ivanović, Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of Montenegro for Foreign and European Affairs.
After the decision of the Court of Appeal, Bernard Čobaj, the Ambassador of Montenegro to Kosovo, visited him in prison, a member of Bajrović's family told "Vijesti", who spoke with the prison warden about the medications and therapy that Bajrović needs because he is allegedly in a serious health condition.
The result of the conversation was a letter of guarantee that Montenegrin Justice Minister Bojan Božović sent to Kosovo Justice Minister Aljbuljeni Haxhi, requesting his temporary release until the completion of the criminal proceedings against him for war crimes.
In that letter, as “Vijesti” published in September last year, Božović wrote that they knew that this kind of activity was not common, but that given Bajrović’s health condition, as well as the complexity of the procedure itself, they believed that this example would represent good practice for similar future procedures. Despite this, Bajrović was not transferred to Montenegro.
Bajrović, a former Serbian police officer, said in his final address to the court that he "feels great shame that he has to defend himself against these accusations at all, because he has tried his whole life to live honorably and honestly, and that a great stain has been cast on his name and that of his family."
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