"The Assembly deplores the continued absence of any accountability for the armed attack at Banjska, Kosovo, on 24 September 2023, in which Kosovan Police Sergeant Afrim Bunjaku was killed. It notes with grave concern that Milan Radoičić, former Vice-President of Srpska Lista, who publicly admitted orchestrating and leading the attack, remains at liberty in Serbia. Despite President Vučić’s refusal to extradite him to Kosovo and his assurance that Serbian judicial authorities would themselves investigate and prosecute, no indictment has been brought against Mr Radoičić in the more than two years since the Serbian investigation was opened. The Assembly considers that this prolonged inaction, set against the conviction of other perpetrators by the Kosovo courts, amounts to a failure of justice and raises serious concerns of de facto State protection of a self-confessed organiser of a deadly attack.
The Assembly further recalls that the Banjska attack was a grave assault on regional stability and the rule of law. It calls on Serbia to co-operate fully and without further delay with all relevant judicial proceedings, to ensure that all those responsible, including Mr Radoičić, are brought to justice whether through extradition or domestic prosecution, and to demonstrate through measurable results its commitment to the Council of Europe standards on accountability and the fight against impunity."
This amendment addresses a significant and continuing failure of accountability that falls squarely within the Assembly’s mandate on the rule of law, justice and the fight against impunity. Accountability for such acts is a core obligation of every member State of the Council of Europe.