Kosovo demands Serbia hand over Banjska suspects on second anniversary of Bunjak murder

2025-09-24 12:49:34, Kosova & Bota CNA

Kosovo demands Serbia hand over Banjska suspects on second anniversary of Bunjak

Kosovo leaders have asked the international community to pressure Serbia to hand over the main suspect Milan Radoicic and other defendants in the armed attack in the north of the country, on the second anniversary of the murder of police sergeant Afrim Bunjaku.

Bunjaku was killed on September 24, 2023 during an attack that a group of armed Serbs carried out against the Kosovo Police in the village of Banjska, Zvecan.

Two years after the attack, the man who claimed responsibility for organizing it, Milan Radoi?i?, is still at large and has a registered residence in Belgrade.

Kosovo's acting Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, after paying homage at Bunjak's grave, called on the international community "not to consider Serbia a normal state until it hands over the criminals of Serbia organized and led by Milan Radoi?i? and financed and supported by official Belgrade and the president there, Aleksandar Vu?i?."

Serbia has denied any involvement in the Banjska attack and has yet to indict him, despite warning last year that it would.

The Supreme Court in Belgrade told Radio Free Europe this week that Radoicic's ban on leaving Serbia has been extended, with an obligation to report to police on the 1st and 15th of each month.

Last year, Kosovo filed indictments against 45 suspects for the attack in Banjska, while only three of these defendants are being tried in Pristina, as the others are inaccessible to Kosovo authorities. All three deny the charges.

"The accused must be immediately handed over to Kosovo, where there is an indictment against them and countless facts of their involvement in this murder of Afrim Bunjaku and in this aggressive and terrorist attack," Kurti said.

Kurti added that "the heroic fall of Afrim Bunjaku was not in vain, it was a fall that elevated the Republic of Kosovo internally and in its international reputation [showing] that we are dealing with a state that is its own master and which has police to protect citizens without discrimination."

Meanwhile, the Speaker of the Kosovo Assembly, Dimal Basha, said that Serbia must hand over "the terrorists for whom there is an indictment and we also call on the international community to exert pressure on Serbia."

Kosovo has repeatedly asked the international community to put pressure on Serbia, but Belgrade refuses to extradite the defendants, saying they will be tried in Serbia.

The German Embassy in Pristina said it is "unacceptable" that two years after the attack, Radoicic continues to live freely in Serbia.

"Two years after the murder of Kosovo Police officer Afrim Bunjaku, and despite numerous promises that the perpetrators will be held accountable before the law, justice has still not been served. It is imperative that accountability and justice be implemented without further delay," the German Embassy said.

The British Embassy in Pristina called on Serbian authorities to arrest and bring Radoicic and the other defendants to justice.

She also expressed her respect for the "professionalism and bravery" of the Kosovo Police for their actions to establish order on September 24, 2023, and the Kosovo prosecutors for their "patient work" to develop the indictment for Banjska./REL