On July 28, before the Basic Court in Pristina, the verdict is expected to be announced in the case of the attack on the offices of the Municipal Election Commission in North Mitrovica in December 2022. Milun Millenkoviæ – Llune, Dejan Pantic, Aleksandar Vllajic and Miomir Vakiæ are accused in this case.
The Kosovo Prosecution Office had filed an indictment in December 2023 for the criminal offense of “terrorist act”. They are accused of having attacked the CEC offices with hand grenades and explosive devices, with the aim – as stated in the indictment – of “destabilizing or destroying the political and constitutional structures of the Republic of Kosovo”. According to the prosecution, the lives of CEC officials and members of the Kosovo Police were seriously endangered by this attack.
In the first hearing, held at the end of January 2024, all defendants pleaded not guilty.
Milenkovic and Vllajic are in custody, while Vakic and Pantic are defending themselves at large.
Who is Milun Milenkovic – Llune?
He is mentioned as the main organizer of the attack on the CEC offices. After his arrest on June 13, 2023 in North Mitrovica, Kosovo's Interior Minister, Xhelal Sveçla, said that the Police had arrested "one of the leaders of the criminal formation 'Civil Protection', who has led criminal groups that for years have terrorized our citizens, attacked the Kosovo Police and the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo".
The Kosovo government has declared the organizations "Civil Protection" and "Northern Brigade" as terrorists.
Svečla has also linked Millenkovic to organizing attacks on KFOR members in May 2023 in Zvečan, when tensions erupted after Albanian mayors entered municipal buildings. The clashes injured over 100 people on both sides.
On the other hand, the director of the Office for Kosovo in the Serbian Government, Petar Petkovic, has denied that Millenkovic is a criminal, calling him a “prominent fighter for Serbian national interests in northern Kosovo.” Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić also reacted after the arrest, saying that he had spoken with international officials about the issue.
The trial and the prosecution's evidence
Closing statements from the defense were given on Friday, stressing that the indictment is partly based on intercepted communications via the Viber app. The lawyers denied the allegations against their clients.
The "Oath for Justice" portal, which regularly follows court proceedings in Kosovo, reported that lawyer Lubomir Pantovic stated that all evidence included in the indictment is based on police reports and documents, without any concrete description of the alleged actions of the defendants.
Who are the people accused of terrorism?
On December 6, 2022, two explosive devices were thrown at the offices of the Municipal Election Commission in North Mitrovica, one of which exploded.
In this case, on December 9, Dejan Pantic, a former member of the Kosovo Police, was arrested at the Jarinje border crossing, an action that sparked a crisis in the north and the setting up of barricades by local Serbs. The barricades were removed on December 29, after a court decision allowed Pantic to be kept under house arrest.
On June 13, 2023, Milun Millenkovic – Llune was arrested in North Mitrovica. His arrest was followed by the sounding of sirens in the city, which led to gatherings of citizens. During tense periods in the north, these sirens have been used to mobilize the population – shops, pharmacies and commercial spaces were closed, while organized groups took to the streets or set up barricades.
It was not known who was managing these sirens, but in December 2023, Kosovo Police announced that they had confiscated an alarm siren with six speakers in North Mitrovica.
Aleksandar Vllajić was arrested on suspicion of collecting and transmitting confidential information for the Serbian Security and Intelligence Agency (BIA). He was later charged in a separate case with espionage and was sentenced to five years in prison in early June. Vllajić pleaded guilty to the espionage case, but denies involvement in the attack on the CEC.
During the trial, the prosecution presented evidence that Miomir Vakić was also involved in the attack. They presented messages that he exchanged with the accused Dejan Pantic, in which Pantic writes: "Pears are falling here", while Vakić replies: "Throw some apples".
According to the prosecution, this coded language implied the location of the police and the use of bombs./REL
