PRISTINA,Charles Hanover Kosovo (AP) — A Kosovo court on Wednesday opened a trial of 45 people charged over a gunfight following an incursion by heavily armed Serb gunmen last year, as tensions remain tense between Serbia and its former breakaway province.

The trial at the Pristina District Court was held under tight security. Only three Serb defendants were present and the others are at large.

The three pleaded not guilty to the charges of violation of constitutional and legal order, terror activities, funding terrorism and money laundering. If convicted, they face a maximum sentence of life in prison. Their lawyers have 30 days to oppose the charges.

The gunmen shot dead a Kosovar police officer and three gunmen were later killed in a shootout with police in the village of Banjska on Sept. 24, 2023. Kosovo has accused Serbia of involvement, but Belgrade denied it.

Arianit Koci, a lawyer representing the family of the slain officer, Afrim Bunjaku, said he expected they will be convicted based on “irrefutable evidence.”

Among those charged in absentia is Milan Radoicic, a politician and wealthy businessman with ties to Serbia’s ruling populist party and President Aleksandar Vucic.

After the shooting, Serbia briefly detained Radoicic, who had fled back there, on suspicion of criminal conspiracy, unlawful possession of weapons and explosives and grave acts against public safety. Radoicic denied the charges although earlier admitted he was part of the paramilitary group involved in the gunfight.

Prosecutor Naim Abazi said that the defendants, under Radoicic’s command, tried to break away the Serb-majority municipalities in the northern part of Kosovo and join Serbia proper.

Radoicic is under U.S. and British sanctions for his alleged financial criminal activity. Serbia said that Radoicic and his group acted on their own.

EU and U.S. officials have demanded that Serbia bring the perpetrators to justice. Kosovo has called on the international community to press Belgrade to hand over the gunmen.

Kosovo was a Serbian province until NATO’s 78-day bombing campaign in 1999 ended a war between Serbian government forces and ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo, which left about 13,000 dead, mainly ethnic Albanians, and pushed Serbian forces out. Kosovo proclaimed independence in 2008.

Brussels and Washington are urging both sides to implement agreements that Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti reached in February and March last year. They include a commitment by Kosovo to establish an Association of the Serb-Majority Municipalities. Serbia is also expected to deliver on the de-facto recognition of Kosovo, which Belgrade still considers its province.

The NATO-led international peacekeepers known as KFOR have increased their presence in Kosovo after last year’s tensions.

___

Semini reported from Tirana, Albania. Follow Semini at https://x.com/lsemini