Police Officers Charged With Murder of Kosovo Albanian Isa Emini Acquitted
According to the assessment of the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC), the trial and acquittal of Miloš Simonović and Republic of Serbia MoI Reserve Dragiša Marković for the murder of Isa Emini, an Albanian from Priština/Prishtin, rendered by the Court of Appeal in Niš on November 17th, 2011, raises serious doubts as to the declared willingness of the Judiciary of the Republic of Serbia to prosecute perpetrators of war crimes who are members of the Police.
The Humanitarian Law Center believes that the sentence rendered in this case, even though it may be considered strict, could have been stricter, since the victims of the crime were civilians who were murdered in a brutal manner, and the accused is a former member of the Reserve Police, who had an obligation to protect civilians. The accused in this case did not submit a guilty plea for the murder, nor did he show remorse or express his condolences to the family of the victims, thus preventing this trial from offering moral satisfaction for victims’ family members.
BELGRADE, December 1st, 2011 – A group of journalists from Kosovo visited the Humanitarian Law Center on Thursday and met with Sandra Orlović, Deputy Executive Director of HLC. A presentation of Volume One of the Kosovo Memory Book (KMB) was organized on this occasion.
VUKOVAR, November 19th, 2011. The City of Vukovar and the “Vukovar Mothers” Association of Victims’ Parents and Family Members organized the 20th annual commemoration of the victims from Borovo Naselje on Saturday, November 19th . The commemoration programme began with an address by the President of the “Vukovar Mothers” Association, Manda Patko, in front of the ruins of the “Borovo– Commerce” centre located inside the area of the “Borovo” Factory, after which wreaths were laid and candles lit in memory of the victims who died during the defence of Borovo Naselje.