Kosovo Drops Village Massacre Charges Against Serb

The prosecution in Pristina has dropped charges accusing Milos Petkovic of committing war crimes against civilians in Krusha e Vogel/Mala Krusha.

"Because of a lack of proof, I have requested that the court terminate the detention of Milos Petkovic," Special Prosecutor Drita Hajdari told BIRN.

"The evidence of witness A. L., who declared that Milos Petkovic was in a group of armed people who shot at him, was not enough to raise an indictment for war crimes, as according to the declaration of the witness, he did not directly see the defendant Milos Petkovic, as he was escaping and he had his back turned," said Hajdari.

No other witness incriminated Petkovic, she added.

Petkovic's lawyer Ljubinko Todorovic said on Tuesday that his client had proved that he was not guilty of involvement in the mass killing in Krusha e Vogel/Mala Krusha on March, 26, 1999, RTV Mir reported.

Petkovic was arrested in Hungary last September on a warrant issued by the EU rule-of-law mission in Kosovo, EULEX, and then sent to Kosovo in May this year.

NOTE: This article was amended on July 10, 2019 to clarify that Petkovic was not acquitted by a court and include quotes from the prosecutor saying that the charges against him were dropped due to a lack of evidence.

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