EU regrets that Serbia has not yet prosecuted those responsible for the attack in Banjska

"Following last week's verdict on the attack in Banjska, the EU regrets that Serbia has still not taken the necessary steps to bring to justice those responsible for the attacks in northern Kosovo in 2023," said a European Commission spokesperson, commenting on the decision of the Basic Court in Pristina, which convicted three defendants for this attack on April 24, Radio Free Europe (RFE) reports.

Blagoje Spasojević and Vladimir Tolić were sentenced to life imprisonment, while Dušan Maksimović was sentenced to 30 years.

The attack in Banjska took place on September 24, 2023. Afrim Bunjaku, a Kosovo police officer, and three Serb attackers were killed during the attack. Milan Radoičić, the former vice president of the Serbian List – the largest Serb party in Kosovo and supported by Belgrade, claimed responsibility for the attack.

The three defendants were part of a group of 45 people indicted about a year after the attacks in northern Kosovo. They include Milan Radoičić, former vice-president of the Serbian List, the largest Kosovo Serb party, who is described in the indictment as the "leader of a terrorist group."

The court decided to separate the criminal proceedings against Spasojević, Tolić and Maksimović, who have been in custody since September 2023, while rejecting the request of the Kosovo Special Prosecution Office for a trial in absentia for the remaining 42 defendants.

Brussels-based institutions have regularly called on Belgrade authorities to establish responsibility for the attack and bring those responsible to justice. However, no indictment has yet been filed in Serbia, despite calls from the EU, the US and NATO, as well as promises from the Serbian president that the perpetrators will be prosecuted.

For the armed attack on the Kosovo police in the north of the country, even after almost three years, there has been no indictment against the organizer, Milan Radoičić, who is in Belgrade.

Radoičić is still banned from leaving his residence and is required to report to the police, the Higher Court told RFE/RL, while the Prosecutor's Office is silent about the indictment.