At the Basic Court in Pristina, in the absence of the witness, Dragana Antonijevic, the hearing against the three defendants in connection with the terrorist attack of September 24, 2023 in the village of Banjska, Zvecan, Vladimir Tolic, Dusan Maksimovic and Blagoje Spasojevic, was adjourned.
At the proposal of the prosecutor, Naim Abazi, the trial panel decided that Antonjiević's testimony be read.
Meanwhile, regarding the other witness, Goran Tanevski, they were told that an attempt will be made to obtain his testimony through the Skopje Court.
The trial panel has also decided to accept the defense's proposal to hear another witness proposed by the defense in this trial.
The presiding judge, Arben Hoti, said that witness Dragana Antonijević is not present in the courtroom today, but that her father has twice accepted the court's invitation.
"According to the agenda, we have planned to hear witness Dragana Antonijevic, who is not presenting at today's court session, for whom her father has accepted the invitation twice in a row at the address the court has in its possession and says that the same is located in Serbia," he said.
State Prosecutor Naim Abazi said that after witness Antonjiević refused to accept the invitation and in the absence of legal reasons for this refusal, he proposes that her testimony be read and administered as direct evidence.
"Since the witness was regularly summoned to this trial, but she refused to accept the invitation, expressing her will not to testify without presenting any legal reason that would justify this refusal. Therefore, since the court is in such a situation, I think that the conditions have been met... that the minutes of previous statements can be read when witnesses without legal reason do not want to testify in this trial. Even in the procedural aspect, the conditions have been met for the fact that the witness gave a statement to the Prosecutor's Office and this statement was documented on the basis of the procedural minutes of this prosecutor's office and the conditions for disclosure to the defense and the injured party have also been met... The court has made real efforts to have the witness present, but without success. Relying on the relevant provisions, I propose that her statement be read and administered as direct evidence in this trial," he said.
The defendants' lawyers also proposed that the witness's testimony be read at this hearing, but at the same time requested that she be summoned again by the court to appear at another hearing.
The defense attorney for the accused Spasojevic, attorney Lubomir Pantovic, said that Antonijević's testimony is not important and has nothing to do with his client.
"The statement of the witness, Dragana Antonijevic, as evidence is completely irrelevant, especially in no way related to my client Blagoje Spasojevic. That statement is related to the general context of the event... I do not oppose the proposal of the special prosecutor," he said.
The same opinion was shared by the defense attorney of the accused, Dušan Maksimović, lawyer Jovana Filipović, while Vladimir Tolić's defense attorney, lawyer Miloš Delević, left it to the court to decide.
The presiding judge, Arben Hoti, said that the prosecutor's proposal is approved, as it has legal basis.
"The prosecutor's proposal is approved, because it has legal basis... The witness, although she was sent an invitation, is not in Kosovo, but in Serbia. Based on these reasons, her testimony is read," said Hoti.
Meanwhile, regarding the last witness proposed by the State Prosecution, Goran Tanevski said that this matter remains pending despite the fact that the court has attempted several times to have a video link with him, but due to the lack of equipment in the Skopje court, it has been impossible at the moment.
"We have the last prosecution witness, Goran Tanevski, in the Republic of Macedonia, and the court has made several attempts a few days ago to secure a video conference with the Skopje court, but they have responded that they do not have the equipment, but have left open the possibility that such a connection with the Skopje court could be established in the future. Until now, we have no confirmation, this matter will remain pending and we will not decide on it," he said.
During this session, the defense proposed hearing the witness Miloš Radosalvović. However, prosecutor Abazi opposed this proposal.
"Since this witness did not appear within the legal deadline and there was no prior or regular procedural notice to notify the prosecutor, this proposal was submitted late and without any reason, not respecting these legal deadlines. The defense cannot benefit from its own procedural violations and accepting this proposal would violate the principle of equality of parties in the procedure. The witness is irrelevant to this issue, while the defense proposal is unclear and inadmissible," he said, reports KP.
The lawyer for the accused Dušan Maksimović, Jovana Filipović, said that the position of the State Prosecution is untenable, emphasizing that the witnesses proposed by the defense may have relevant knowledge about the case.
"This remark by the SP does not hold true, it does not hold true due to the fact that the witnesses who have been proposed can provide and have direct and indirect knowledge of this legal matter," she said.
Regarding this proposal, the presiding judge, Arben Hoti, announced that the defense's proposal to hear Miloš Radosalvović as a witness is approved.
The next hearing in the Banjska terrorist attack case is scheduled for January 16, at 09:30 a.m.
The initial trial session against the three defendants in the “Banjska” case, Vladimir Tolic, Dusan Maksimovic and Blagoje Spasojevic, was held on April 17, 2025. At this session, all three defendants pleaded not guilty. The Court decided to separate the criminal proceedings against these three defendants.
The Special Prosecution of Kosovo on September 11, 2024, filed an indictment against Milan Radoićić and 44 others for the terrorist attack of September 24, 2023 in Banjska i Zvečan, where police sergeant Afrim Bunjaku was killed, KosovaPress reports.
The defendants are charged with the criminal offenses of committing a terrorist act, serious offenses against the constitutional order and security of the Republic of Kosovo, facilitating and financing the commission of terrorism, and money laundering.
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