Meja massacre case in court, but not the accused

The indictment against the former head of the Security Department at the Pristina Corps Command, Momir Stojanović, and 52 others, whom the Prosecution holds responsible for war crimes in Mejë and other villages in Gjakova, has been read. The trial, which began on Monday, is being held in the absence of the accused.

The trial in absentia of Momir Stojanović and 52 other defendants for war crimes against the Albanian civilian population in the village of Mejë and surrounding areas during April 1999 has begun.
On Monday, the indictment charging 53 former members of Serbian military and police structures with responsibility for the murder of 370 Albanian civilians was read at the Basic Court of Pristina. 
Among the accused are several former Yugoslav Army superiors, including Momir Stojanović, then head of the Security Department at the Pristina Corps Command; then Sreten Čamović, former head of the UDB; Nikola Miqunović, commander of the Reserve Units and Territorial Defense, as well as other commanders of military units.

According to the indictment read by special prosecutor Ilir Morina, the two-day operation known as "Bad River" began as an act of revenge, after KLA members killed five Serbian police officers in that area.

"Under the pretext of cleansing the territory from KLA forces, they created the ethnic cleansing plan of the Albanian population called 'Bad River', in the Caragaj area where they planned to kill over 100 people and burn all the houses in revenge for the killing of 5 policemen by the KLA," said Morina. 

According to the indictment, the villages were initially shelled, and then Serbian forces entered them.

"During these checks, Serbian forces separate men from women and children and order the latter, under threat of weapons, to flee towards Albania, while the men are executed in a barbaric manner in various places. In which case, 283 civilians were killed in the village of Mejë, and 66 civilians in Korenica."

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According to the prosecution, as a result of this action, 20.000 civilians were deported to Albania through the Qafë Prush and Morinë border points.

Four Albanians are also accused in this case: Mihill and Sokol Abazi, father and son, as well as Smajl Beqiri and Muharrem Ibraj. 

Momir Stojanović is the main defendant. At the time, he was the Chief of Security in the Pristina Corps and, according to the indictment, had a leadership role. 

He currently leads the political entity, the Serbian National Council for Kosovo. In February of this year, Stojanović publicly criticized the Serbian president for sending “untrained people” to the attack in Banjska.

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Also accused are Dragan Živanović, former commander of the 125th Brigade of the Yugoslav Army, investigated in Serbia for the massacre in Cušk, but the case has been closed, as well as Franko Simatović, former head of the Special Units, previously convicted of war crimes in Bosnia.

The investigation into the Meja massacre, in which 370 Albanian civilians were killed, began in 2013, when the justice sector was led by EULEX. It was interrupted several times. The indictment of the Special Prosecution Office was also changed, because the Basic Court in Pristina sent it back for completion.