Kosovo Justice Minister , Albulena Hadjiu, said that following the indictment of the Banska attack case in September 2023, it was of the utmost importance that Serbia be pressured to hand over the defendants, whom she called "terrorist criminals", the newspaper “ Koha ditore“, quoted by BTA.
According to Hadjiu, this pressure should be exerted by the international community.
In the attack in the village of Banska, located in northern Kosovo, about 15 km from the border with Serbia, an armed group of Serbs attacked Kosovo policemen on September 24, 2023. One Kosovo policeman was killed and three of the attackers died in the encounter. Kosovo described the attack as a “terrorist attack” and accused Belgrade of participating in its organization, which Serbia categorically denied.
Last week, the Special Prosecutor's Office of Kosovo filed charges against 45 people, including Milan Radojcic, believed to be the leader of the armed group.
Radojcic, a former politician and businessman from northern Kosovo who is currently in Serbia, claimed responsibility for the attack. He was the deputy chairman of the largest party of the Serbs in Kosovo, "Serbian List", supported by official Belgrade. After the clash in Banska, Radojcic resigned from his post. He was arrested in Serbia but released a day later, after which Interpol issued an international warrant for his arrest.
"Serbia must hand over the main terrorist Radojcic and the others who are behind the terrorist attack in Banska. Our international partners should press for this instead of demanding that Kosovo provide evidence to Serbia. The only competent institutions to investigate and prosecute this case are in the Republic of Kosovo," said Hajiu in an interview for “Economy Online”.
She stressed that the international community should have condemned and sanctioned Serbia for the attack in Banska, instead of looking for evidence from Kosovo.
Hajiu also added that Serbia was behind the attack, providing weapons, training and funding to the attackers.
When asked if there is a danger of such an attack in the future, Hadjiu replied that everything can be expected from Serbia, "taking into account its hegemonic goals and territorial claims to Kosovo."