Pristina court overturns war crimes conviction of Srđan Lazović, orders retrial

The Appellate Court in Pristina has overturned a lower court's conviction of Srđan Lazović, who was sentenced to 12 and a half years for war crimes. The defense team hailed the decision as "excellent news," with lawyer Predrag Miljković stating that the appellate court fully accepted the defense's arguments.

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Excellent news. The arguments of the defense were accepted in full.

Miljković explained that the higher court agreed that the initial trial court had not correctly established the facts. He highlighted that two expert testimonies were overlooked and that the court prioritized witness accounts over clear expert findings. The case will now return to the Basic Court in Pristina for a new trial.

Lazović's defense anticipates the new proceedings could begin in September or October. While celebrating the significant success of overturning the conviction, Miljković noted that Lazović will remain in pretrial detention until the retrial concludes. "It's not ideal that his detention continues, but this is excellent news. We will have a new chance to prove ourselves," he said, expressing confidence in a different outcome.

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We expect a different outcome in the new proceedings.

Srđan Lazović was arrested on June 27, 2024, while returning to Leposavić with his family. The defense has consistently maintained that he was misidentified and is not the person who committed the alleged crimes. The initial conviction in February found Lazović guilty of war crimes during the Kosovo conflict, alleging his participation in the arrest, mistreatment, and expulsion of Albanian civilians in the village of Panorce. The court had also ordered him to pay legal costs and damages.

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It's not ideal that his detention continues, but this is excellent news. We will have a new chance to prove ourselves.