Court hearing against Gavrilo Milosavljevic on April 10, 2025. Photo: BIRN

Kosovo Court Acquits Serb of Involvement in Dubrava Prison Massacre

Prishtina Basic Court acquitted former prison officer Gavrilo Milosavljevic of committing war crimes against civilians at Dubrava Prison, where a massacre left over 100 inmates dead in 1999.

Prishtina Basic Court on Monday acquitted Kosovo Serb former prison officer Gavrilo Milosavljevic of war crimes charges related to the mistreatment and killing of ethnic Albanian prisoners during the 1998-99 Kosovo war, citing insufficient evidence to prove his involvement.

Milosavljevic had been accused of participating in the torture, murder and inhumane treatment of ethnic Albanian prisoners at the Dubrava prison during the war, both individually and in collaboration with others. He pleaded not guilty.

The indictment had accused Milosavljevic of taking part in the Dubrava prison massacre between May 22-24, 1999, when Serbian police units allegedly ordered about 1,000 Albanian prisoners into the prison courtyard under the pretext of relocation for their safety.

They were then attacked with automatic weapons, mortars and hand grenades. The attack resulted in the deaths of 109 prisoners and injuries to 108 others.

According to the prosecution, Milosavljevic, along with other prison officials, also routinely entered cellblocks B and C of Dubrava prison to beat, torture and verbally abuse prisoners based solely on their ethnicity.

But in its first-instance verdict – which can be appealed – the court found that witness statements failed to identify Milosavljevic as being present, armed, or participating in the alleged mass killing of prisoners at Dubrava.

Following months of proceedings, judge Vesel Ismaili ruled that the evidence presented did not convincingly place the defendant at the scene of the crimes.

“The trial panel carefully evaluated each piece of evidence in relation to the others and concluded that the facts necessary to prove the elements of the alleged criminal offense were not established,” judge Ismaili stated while reading the verdict.

His pre-trial detention was lifted immediately following the verdict.

Milosavljevic is the second former Serb prison officer to be convicted of war crimes by a Kosovo court recently.

In April 2025, Pristina Basic Court sentenced former prison guard Dragisa Milenkovic to seven years’ imprisonment for war crimes against civilians during the Kosovo war.

Milenkovic was found guilty of the torture, physical and psychological abuse and inhumane and life-threatening mistreatment of Kosovo Albanians held in prisons in Pristina and Lipjan/Lipljan, in collaboration with other guards during the 1998-99 war.

According to the prosecution, after prisoners were transferred from Dubrava prison to jails in Pristina and Lipjan/Lipljan, Milenkovic forced them to pass through a cordon, hitting them with sticks, punches and kicks.

In recent years, Kosovo’s judicial system has intensified its efforts to prosecute war crimes. According to the Humanitarian Law Centre Kosovo, in 2024 alone, the Kosovo Special Prosecutor’s Office filed 13 indictments related to war crimes, including several in absentia against suspected former members of Serbian military and police units.

and 16/06/2025 - 19:03

16 June 2025 - 19:03

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