At the Basic Court in Prishtina today, the trial continued against three defendants accused of the terrorist attack in Banjskë, Zveçan, in which police officer Afrim Bunjaku was killed.

At today’s session, testimony was given by Alban Rashiti, a member of the Rapid Intervention Unit, who was wounded during the attack that occurred in September 2023.

The defendants—Blagoje Spasojeviq, Vladimir Toliq, and Dushan Maksimoviq—were brought to court under high security measures. They have been in pre-trial detention since September 2023.

Police officer Alban Rashiti, responding to questions from the special prosecutor Naim Abazi, stated that the terrorist attack in Banjskë was well planned. During his testimony, he described how, while returning to base in Kushtovë in Vllahia, they encountered two trucks blocking a bridge in the village of Banjskë.

Rashiti explained that after 9 PM, their base received the first information about a jeep-type vehicle in a meadow, but it was not identified by the border unit since it was not in the system.

“Together with my colleagues Çlirim Shaqiri and Mirsad Kryeziu, I continued from Izvoti to pass near the village of Banjskë to continue on the main road and return to the base in Kushtovë, Vllahia. When we reached the bridge in Banjskë on the right side of the road leading to Banjskë, we noticed two heavy trucks that had barricaded the bridge, positioned on top of it. We checked for anything suspicious but saw no suspicious persons, only the trucks. The colleagues reported to the center, but there were communication problems with the radio. We moved away to a location where we could give information about what was happening and checked the road for other obstacles. On the main road to the base, there was nothing suspicious, and we reported that two trucks blocked the road,” he said.

Alban Rashiti also spoke about the reinforcements that arrived in two vehicles with six police officers, including the now deceased officer Afrim Bunjaku.

During his testimony, Rashiti described the moment he greeted Bunjaku and the moment of the officer’s death, as well as his own injury.

The police officer also stated that on the critical night of the terrorist attack in Banjskë, the lighting on the bridge was unusual. He believes that the lighting was tampered with by the terrorist group.

When asked by special prosecutor Naim Abazi about his injuries during the attack, Rashiti said that while he had several wounds from the first explosion, the most severe was in his left chest.

Rashiti testified that the terrorist attack in Banjskë was planned and coordinated. According to him, this was a military formation attack.

Besides the prosecutor, Rashiti was questioned by his lawyer Naim Rudari and the court panel, but not by the defense lawyers of the three accused.

The Kosovo Special Prosecution on September 11 of last year charged Milan Radouccić and 44 others for the terrorist attack on September 24, 2023, in Banjskë, Zveçan.

The Basic Court in Prishtina rejected trials in absentia for the accused who are not in custody. The accused are charged with using heavy armed violence to attempt to detach the northern part of Kosovo’s territory and annex it to the Republic of Serbia, resulting in the death of police officer Afrim Bunjaku and endangering the lives of other police officers and civilians./