Kosovo Murder Trial Witnesses Nervous About Accusing Serb Gang

Two witnesses at the trial for the 2018 killing of Kosovo Serb political party leader Oliver Ivanovic at the Pristina Basic Court on Tuesday showed reluctance to confirm previous testimonies they gave to the prosecution in which they named alleged members of organised criminal groups that operate in the Serb-dominated north of Kosovo.

The first witness, Radmila Rajcic, said in the testimony she gave to the prosecution in December 2018 that "Ivanovic was murdered by the same criminal group [led by Milan Radojicic]" as her son.

In court on Tuesday, however, the witness refused to repeat the allegation.

"I am not sure, I do not deny my testimony but that was only my opinion," she said when she was asked about her previous statement, claiming that what she said was based on rumours and not on what she knew for certain.

Powerful Kosovo Serb businessman Milan Radojicic is vice-president of the main Belgrade-backed Kosovo Serb party, Srpska Lista. The indictment in the Ivanovic case accused him of being the leader of the criminal organised group that organised the murder in January 2018, together with Kosovo Serb businessman Zvonko Veselinovic. They have both denied any involvement and neither man is on trial.

All the witnesses so far in the trial have been reluctant to confirm previous testimonies about the alleged organised criminal group led by Radojicic.

Four of the defendants in the trial - Marko Rosic, Silvana Arsovic, Rade Basara and Nedeljko Spasojevic - are accused of being members of the joint criminal enterprise that murdered Ivanovic.

Two police officers, Dragisa Markovic and Zarko Jovanovic, are also on trial, accused of evidence-tampering in the case. All the defendants have pleaded not guilty.

Witness...