The Constitutional Court in Mitrovica has convicted and sentenced police officer Korab Pepaj to three years in prison, charged with attempted murder of Milan Jovanovic, in an incident in April 2023, at the police checkpoint at the Bistrica Bridge in northern Kosovo.

The indictment has been declared today, on November 13, 2026, at the conclusion of the retrial process, declaring the same sentence as that of the first trial.

According to the indictment set up in July 2023, Pepaj, the police official’s quality, was suspected of trying to deprive Milan Jovanovic of his life because he had not respected the ban on the police checkpoint.

The prosecution claims that Jovanovi, who was moving to the Leposaviq Mitrovica magistrate, had continued on the road despite the police’s signaling to stop.

Under these circumstances, according to the Prosecutor’s File, Pepay had twice fired the official weapon in the direction of the vehicle, hitting him from the back. As a result, Jovanovi had suffered gunshot wounds on his right arm.

The defense rejected the charge: I didn’t try to kill you.

At the November 10, 2026 session, Pepate’s defense had sought his release from the prosecution, arguing that the prosecution had failed to prove beyond reasonable suspicion that the police had acted in order to kill the injured.

In the final address, the defence had raised questions about the circumstances of the incident, the time police had had had been available to respond and the security situation in northern Kosovo at that time.

Also, ballistic expertise had been disputed, claiming that the trajectory and distance of the shooting had not been determined, and that the concrete weapon that had caused the wound had not been identified by relevant evidence.

The defence had insisted that any suspicion concerning evidence should be interpreted in favour of the accused.

Apel had turned the case into retrial

Korab Pepaj was sentenced to three years in prison for attempted murder on January 6, 2025.

On May 12, 2026, however, the Court of Appeals had decided to bring the case back into retrial.

In this process, Pepaj was also accused of experimenting with evidence, under the suspicion that he had concealed the two pistol shells he fired. For this criminal offence, he was acquitted of prosecution in the first trial.

Meanwhile, three other people, with F.M. initials, S.U. and M.M., charged with failing to report criminal acts, had been acquitted of charges by the Constitutional Court, while the issue was confirmed by Appeals.

In today’s act, the Constitutional Court in Mitrovica has again sentenced Pepaine to three years in prison for attempted murder. The first-instance decision could be filed according to legal procedures.

/Gazeta Sinjali/

Source Layer: Signal