On 26 February 2026, the War Crimes Department of the Higher Court in Belgrade rendered a first-instance judgment finding Đeljoš Krasnići (Gjelosh Krasniqi), a former member of the Kosovo Liberation Army, guilty of the murder of three and the wounding of one civilian of Serbian nationality on 19 June 1999 in the village of Belo Polje (Bellopojë) near Peć. The Court found Krasnići guilty of the criminal offence of a war crime against the civilian population and imposed a sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment. The proceedings were conducted in absentia.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office for War Crimes filed an indictment against Krasnići in late October 2024, and the trial commenced in June 2025. During the proceedings, six witnesses and one medical expert were examined.
In delivering the judgment, the Presiding Judge stated that the witnesses consistently described the perpetrator as a male who fired a pistol equipped with a silencer, and that certain witnesses identified the accused, Krasnići, from photographs shown to them. Although the testimonies contained certain inaccuracies and inconsistencies regarding specific details, the Court assessed these as minor, bearing in mind the passage of time and the trauma experienced by the witnesses as eyewitnesses to the events. The Presiding Judge concluded that “this judgment has shed light on yet another grave war crime committed in the territory of Kosovo.”
Although the proceedings were concluded swiftly and efficiently, within five trial days, the Humanitarian Law Center notes certain limitations concerning the evidentiary process and the overall fairness of the trial. The indictment filed against Đeljoš Krasnići was based predominantly on witness testimony, with limited material and forensic evidence to corroborate those allegations, and court-appointed defence counsel had no contact with the accused.
To date, the Public Prosecutor’s Office for War Crimes has brought seven indictments against individuals unavailable to the Serbian judiciary, five of which concern citizens of Kosovo for crimes committed against the non-Albanian population. Although trials in absentia are envisaged under domestic criminal legislation, they carry inherent legal and practical limitations, particularly due to the accused’s inability to participate in the evidentiary process. In addition, their procedural economy is questionable, considering the accused’s right to a retrial once the conditions are met for proceedings to be conducted in his presence.
Notwithstanding the legitimate interest in establishing responsibility for the killing of three and the wounding of one civilian, we emphasize that effective prosecution of crimes committed against Serbs in Kosovo requires enabling cooperation with the judicial institutions of Kosovo. In this regard, it should be noted that Đeljoš Krasnići was also convicted in 2009 before the District Court in Peć for a war crime against civilians. Given that in Kosovo trials in absentia in war crimes cases are likewise becoming an increasingly common practice, there is an impression that the initiation of such proceedings may be driven in part by legal retaliatory motives, rather than exclusively by the pursuit of justice for victims.
Such practice does not contribute to the establishment of justice, whether from the perspective of procedural fairness, the needs of victims, or the objective of genuine dealing with the past. Instead of institutionalizing trials in absentia, efforts should be directed toward building and enhancing regional cooperation as the only effective mechanism for securing the presence of accused persons, conducting fair proceedings, and achieving justice for victims of war crimes. The application of the in-absentia trial mechanism has limited prospects of bringing perpetrators to justice and therefore represents a step backward in the prosecution of war crimes.
The Humanitarian Law Center recalls that since 2014, the Public Prosecutor’s Office for War Crimes not filed a single new indictment for crimes committed in Kosovo against individuals who are Serbian nationals and thus available to the domestic judiciary.
The indictment and trial reports are available in Serbian language at the following link: Case Predmet BELO POLJE/BELLOPOJË.
