KUCI

Chief State Prosecutor Aleksander Lumezi said on Wednesday evening that the arrest warrant for Milan Radoicic, suspected of being one of the heads of a criminal organsiation that murdered political party leader Oliver Ivanovic in January 2018, was withdrawn for "technical and tactical reasons" but insisted that "the criminal case against him continues".

Two witnesses at the trial for the 2018 killing of Kosovo Serb political party leader Oliver Ivanovic at the Pristina Basic Court on Tuesday showed reluctance to confirm previous testimonies they gave to the prosecution in which they named alleged members of organised criminal groups that operate in the Serb-dominated north of Kosovo.

In a movie-like scene, a powerful Belgrade-backed politician and businessman, Milan Radoicic, escaped arrest on Thursday at the Brnjak crossing point between Kosovo and Serbia.

Valon Kurtaj, head of the judging panel in the trial of defendants accused of involvement in the 2018 assassination of Kosovo Serb political party leader Oliver Ivanovic, told Pristina Basic Court on Tuesday that the court is facing a series of difficulties in contacting witnesses who live in Serb-majority parts of Kosovo and in Serbia itself.

A witness at the trial for the 2018 killing of Kosovo Serb political party leader Oliver Ivanovic, told Pristina Basic Court on Wednesday that he wanted to change the testimony he previously gave to Kosovo's Special Prosecution.

The witness, who the judges asked media not to name for security reasons and to avoid witness-tampering, said he made the decision because he is afraid.

Three years after the initial indictment for the murder of Kosovo Serb political party leader Oliver Ivanovic, the first witness was heard in the trial at Pristina Basic Court on Monday.

Belgrade Higher Court has dismissed a defamation case launched by controversial Kosovo Serb businessman and politician Milan Radoicic against rival Kosovo Serb politician Rada Trajkovic, who accused him of being implicated in the shooting of Oliver Ivanovic in 2018.

The trial for the murder of Kosovo Serb politician Oliver Ivanovic opened on Tuesday at Pristina Basic Court with the prosecution saying it will prove that the defendants participated in removing obstacles to the killing, abused their official positions and collaborated with the killers, who have not yet been arrested.

The trial began by verifying the identities of the accused and acquainting them with their rights.
At the suggestion of the lawyer, the indictment was not read to them because they were already familiar with it, and all the accused stated that they understood the allegations of the indictment and that they were not guilty, RTS reports.

The Court of Appeals in Pristina on Tuesday confirmed the third version of the indictment accusing six people of being part of an alleged organised criminal group that was responsible for the killing of Kosovo Serb political party leader Oliver Ivanovic in January 2018, clearing the way for the start of the trial.