Kosovo court schedules trial of 21 alleged Reçak massacre perpetrators

The Basic Court in Pristina announced that a first hearing will be held on 20 July for 21 defendants accused of war crimes against the civilian population during the 1998‑1999 conflict. The indictment, filed by the Kosovo Special Prosecutor’s Office, charges the suspects with crimes under both the former Yugoslav criminal code and the current Kosovo Penal Code, including forced displacement, executions, property destruction and ethnic cleansing.

The trial will be conducted in absentia because the accused – named among them Obrad Stevanović, Radomir Marković and Dragan Djorgović – have remained unreachable despite public calls for them to surrender. Authorities have also urged anyone with information on the suspects' whereabouts to contact the Kosovo Police or other competent bodies.

According to the prosecution, the men served in the former Yugoslav Army’s “243 Mechanized Brigade” and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and were responsible for surrounding the village of Reçak, separating men from women and children, and carrying out mass expulsions and executions.