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Belgrade/ A Kosovo citizen is sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison

2026-02-27 15:25:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

A court in Belgrade has sentenced former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) member Gjelosh Krasniqi in absentia to 15 years in prison on charges of crimes during the war in Kosovo.

On February 26, Krasniqi was found guilty of killing three people and wounding a Serb civilian in June 1999 in the village of Bellopoja near Peja.

The Humanitarian Law Center in Serbia has said that the indictment against Krasniqi is based primarily on witness statements and limited forensic and medical evidence, and that the defense attorney, ex officio, had no contact with the defendant.

This non-governmental organization has said that cooperation with Kosovo's judicial institutions is necessary for the prosecution of crimes against Serbs in Kosovo.

"Especially given the fact that Krasniqi was convicted of crimes against civilians by the Peja District Court in 2009 ," the statement said.

It also mentions that trials in absentia in war crimes cases in Kosovo are becoming increasingly frequent and that "the impression is created that the motives for initiating such procedures stem partly from legal revenge and not exclusively from the desire to achieve justice for the victims."

The Fund recalled that the War Crimes Prosecutor's Office in Serbia has so far filed seven indictments against persons who are not available to the Serbian judiciary, and that five of them are against citizens of Kosovo, for crimes committed against the non-Albanian population.

Since 2014, the Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor has not filed any new indictments for crimes in Kosovo against persons who are citizens of Serbia.

In response to these criticisms, the Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor previously told Radio Free Europe that "they initiate and conduct proceedings in accordance with the evidence and the law."

Serbia, in addition to filing lawsuits and trials in absentia, has continued to detain Kosovo citizens at border crossings.

The latest arrest occurred on February 5, when a former KLA member was arrested at the border crossing between Serbia and Croatia. The European Commission warned at the time that the arrest and prosecution of a Kosovo citizen by Serbian authorities represented another breach of Serbia’s obligations under agreements reached in the framework of the dialogue with Kosovo, mediated by the European Union in Brussels.

"Serbia has pledged not to initiate criminal investigations or prosecutions for alleged crimes committed in Kosovo, unless requested by the Kosovo authorities ," a European Commission spokesperson told Radio Free Europe.

He added that allegations of war crimes and other serious crimes are within the jurisdiction of Kosovo institutions and called on Serbia to fulfill its obligations. /REL