The Basic Court in Prishtina has sentenced Blagoje Spasojević and Vladimir Tolić to life imprisonment, and Dušan Maksimović to 30 years in prison. They are accused of the terrorist attack in Banjska, Zvečan, on September 24, 2023, in which Kosovo Police Sergeant Afrim Bunjaku was killed.
The three accused are part of a group of 45 individuals who were indicted about a year after the attack in northern Kosovo, including Milan Radoičić, former vice-president of the largest Serb party in Kosovo, the Serbian List, who is described in the indictment as the "leader of the terrorist group."
The court decided to separate the criminal proceedings against Spasojević, Tolić, and Maksimović, who have been in pre-trial detention since September 2023, while it rejected the request of the Special Prosecution of Kosovo for a trial in absentia for the other 42 individuals.
According to the Prosecution, the accused are suspected of attempting, through the use of violence and heavy weaponry, to secede the northern part of Kosovo and annex it to Serbia. During this incident, police officer Bunjaku was killed, another police officer, Alban Rashiti, was wounded by gunfire, and police officers Çlirim Sahiti, Mirsad Kryeziu, and Sedat Dushi were injured, while the lives of other police officers and the civilian population were also endangered.
For these actions, they are accused of committing the criminal offense of "Serious acts against the constitutional order and security of the Republic of Kosovo." Meanwhile, in Serbia, no indictment has been filed despite calls from the EU and NATO for the perpetrators of the Banjska attack to be held accountable.