Radoicic Probe Over Banjska Continues, No Indictment Yet
After Radoicic appeared at an SNS rally in Kragujevac, the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade says the Banjska investigation is ongoing. No indictment has been filed.
The investigation into Milan Radoicic over the armed attack in Banjska has not been closed, the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade has confirmed. The prosecutors said so in a reply to Radio Free Europe (RFE), after Radoicic appeared at a campaign rally of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) in Kragujevac.
What did the prosecutor’s office say about the investigation?
The query was sent in the middle of the campaign for the parliamentary elections scheduled for October 25. The SNS list is led by Aleksandar Vucic, until recently the president of Serbia. The prosecutors replied that the investigation into Radoicic is still under way and said nothing more. No indictment has been filed, and what the investigation has established is not known to the public.
The Higher Court in Belgrade did not answer RFE’s question on whether Radoicic still has to report to the police. That measure was imposed on him earlier and requires him to report twice a month.
What is Radoicic suspected of in Serbia?
The attack in Banjska, in the municipality of Zvecan in northern Kosovo, took place in September 2023. Kosovo police officer Afrim Bunjaku was killed, and three attackers died in the exchange of fire that followed. Radoicic admitted that he led the armed group of Serbs that carried out the attack.
In Serbia, the investigation targets Radoicic and several unidentified persons on suspicion of three criminal offenses:
- conspiracy to commit crimes
- unlawful production, possession, carrying and trade of firearms and explosives
- serious offenses against public safety
An indictment that is announced but never arrives
Chief Prosecutor Nenad Stefanovic previously announced that an indictment would be filed in late 2024 or early 2025. That has not happened. The reply from the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office offers no new deadline and does not say what stage the investigation has reached.
How did Pristina react?
The Kosovo government told RFE that Milan Radoicic’s presence at the rally of the list led by Vucic was:
“proof confirming that the terrorist attack in Banjska, in the municipality of Zvecan, was planned, financed and organized by the state of Serbia”.
The Kosovo government added that Radoicic’s presence “should be an alarm for the EU and other Western countries”. We wrote about Pristina’s reaction to his appearance on October 11.
Kosovo treats the attack as an act of terrorism. Of 45 people charged before the Kosovo judiciary, three have been convicted, while the rest, Radoicic among them, are listed as fugitives. Radoicic is under US and UK sanctions over alleged involvement in international organized crime.
Vucic has said on several occasions that Radoicic is not a criminal but someone who fights for Serbs in Kosovo. According to RFE, the international community regularly calls on Serbia to bring those responsible for the Banjska attack to justice.
