At the Basic Court in Pristina, during the judicial review of the case of the terrorist attack in Banjska of Zvecan that occurred in September 2023, against the three accused Blagoje Spasojevic, Vladimir Tolic and Dusan Maksimovic, the Special Prosecution and the legal representatives of the injured parties requested that they be found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment, reports KosovaPress.

At today’s hearing, the three accused were again present, who, in handcuffs and under high security, were brought into the courtroom to hear the closing statements from the Special Prosecution and the lawyers of the injured parties.

Initially, Special Prosecutor Naim Abazi elaborated his closing statement, stating that the terrorist attack in Banjska is not an isolated incident but a well-organized criminal operation aimed at undermining the constitutional order of Kosovo. He said that the preparations had begun as early as the meeting in Raska, Serbia, in which arming and mobilization against the institutions of Kosovo had been requested.

"Here we are not dealing with a case of an isolated incident, but we are dealing with a well-organized criminal operation, with a terrorist purpose and with the aim of undermining the constitutional order and security of the Republic of Kosovo. The beginnings of this organization do not actually date from September 24, 2023. They are clearly documented from the meeting of October 13, 2021 in the city of Raska in the Republic of Serbia, where arming, mobilization and preparation for armed resistance against the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo were requested. The statements given at that meeting included calls for state support and armed action. They revealed the essential elements of this case, in the premeditation and intention to use violence as a means to achieve political objectives. This purpose does not remain at a declarative level, but is materialized in practice," he said.

According to him, the target of this terrorist attack was the Kosovo Police.

Prosecutor Abazi, in his closing statement, stated that the attack was carried out with heavy weaponry and its consequences were tragic, where the police sergeant Afrim Bunjaku was killed and other police officers were injured.

Abazi stated that the evidence secured from the drone shows that the terrorist group had conducted military training in the Serbian state without any obstacle.

The Special Prosecutor, Naim Abazi, requested from the trial panel to find the three accused Blagoje Spasojevic, Vladimir Tolic and Dusan Maksimovic guilty and to sentence them to life imprisonment.

"Any lower sentence would be clearly disproportionate to the gravity, consequences and danger of the act and would not fulfill either the punitive or the preventive function of the criminal sanction. Based on all the evidence administered during the judicial review and based on the full legal analysis of the objective and subjective elements of the criminal offense, as well as on the individual responsibility of each of the defendants, within the framework of co-perpetration, the Special Prosecution proposes that the court find Blagoje Spasojevic, Vladimir Tolic and Dusan Maksimovic guilty of the criminal offenses they are charged with and impose on each of them the maximum sentence provided by law, not less than life imprisonment," he said.

The lawyers of the family of the sergeant who was killed in this attack, Afrim Bunjaku, and of the police officers who were injured, Clirim Shaqiri and Alban Rashiti, also requested that the court find the three accused guilty of the terrorist attack in Banjska.

The legal representative of the Bunjaku family, Arianit Koci, stated that Sergeant Afrim Bunjaku and his family continue to be killed, as no one has distanced themselves from the crime. He said that the purpose of this terrorist attack was the secession of a part of Kosovo.

Life imprisonment for the accused was also requested by Besiana Ismajli, the lawyer of police officer Clirim Shaqiri, who said that her client sustained physical and psychological injuries in the terrorist attack in Banjska and, as a result, has not yet returned to work.

Compensation in the amount of 1.5 million euros for police officer Alban Rashiti and life imprisonment for Spasotzjevic, Tolic and Maksimovic was also requested by Rashiti’s lawyer, Naim Rudari.

At the next hearing on April 20, the closing statements of the defense of the accused Blagoje Spasojevic, Vladimir Tolic and Dusan Maksimovic for the terrorist attack in Banjska of Zvecan will be heard.