According to the Prosecution, D.M., D.D., M.R., N.J., N.O., and S.V., from December 10 to December 29 in the northern municipalities of Kosovo, “acting in co-perpetration and through the use of force and violence, obstructed the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo in establishing constitutional order, exercising state authority, and carrying out official duties in these municipalities.”
The defendants, according to the Prosecution’s statement, organized and erected barricades on main roads through the use of force and violence, employing heavy machinery, including trucks loaded with gravel, excavators, ambulances, buses, and other vehicles.
According to the Prosecution, their actions indicated that, in the event of intervention by the Kosovo Police to remove the barricades and restore freedom of movement, members of the group were prepared to attack police officers using the means at their disposal.
Meanwhile, according to the indictment, investigations against 11 other individuals identified by the initials M.R., A.S., A.F., A.J., R.S., S.A., D.V., S.P., V.R., M.R., and M.R. have been suspended “because they remain unavailable” to Kosovo’s justice authorities.
On December 6, 2022, the offices of the Central Election Commission (CEC) in North Mitrovica were attacked with two explosive devices, one of which detonated. The attack occurred while authorities were preparing to organize local elections in the four northern municipalities, following the resignation of Serb mayors from the Serbian List in protest against the Kosovo Government’s decision to re-register vehicles with Serbian license plates to RKS plates. Due to the tensions created, the elections were postponed until April 2023.
As a result of the attack, former Kosovo Police officer Dejan Pantić was arrested on December 9 at the Jarinje border crossing. His arrest further escalated tensions, prompting local Serbs to erect barricades. During the same period, Serbia placed its army on heightened alert and increased its military presence near the border with Kosovo, in the Raška area. The barricades were ultimately removed on December 29 after Pantić’s detention measure was changed from pre-trial detention to house arrest.
For the attack on the CEC offices, three individuals, including former Kosovo Police officer Dejan Pantic, were sentenced in 2025 to a total of 12 years in prison.
