He testified for the acts he is accused of.
Milenkovic, who was questioned by the defense today, said that the detainees were not physically abused in the prison in Pristina, but in the facility used by the State Security, which was located right next to the facility where he was employed.
Milenkovic's trial has been going on for twenty months, and after the witnesses were examined, his testimony followed. The person accused of war crimes described his functioning in prisons in Pristina and Lipjan from the moment he was employed in 1993 until the end of the war. He said that during his employment in these two prisons, most of the employees were of Albanian nationality, but that the head was a Serb, Lj. Ch. He described that the conditions in the prison were relatively good, and that political prisoners had special rooms - solitary cells, which were renovated in the mid-90s. He also said that the diet of the detainees was good.
When asked by lawyer Dejan A. Vasić about the physical mistreatment of prisoners, Milenkovic said that the prison guards did not physically mistreat them and that their superiors did not demand it either. However, he said that they were obliged to accompany the prisoners to their premises, which were "adjacent" to the Pristina prison itself, upon the invitation of the State Security. There, according to testimony, Milenkovic's political prisoners were subjected to interrogation and physical abuse.
"A part of the people, usually those who were political (prisoners), were subjected to interrogation by the State Security until the start of the trial or made a statement before the investigating judge," said Milenkovic. When asked by the lawyer Vasić whether members of the Kosovo Liberation Army were also interrogated, Dragiša said: "Some five percent, only those who were interesting, the others were not."
"The key to the door leading to the State Security was only with us guards. The State Security inspectors in contact with the shift leader ask for the name of the person to be taken to such and such a room of the State Security, that was our job, to take the person, take him to the DB, there we get a confirmation that the inspector "so and so" took that person, it is signed, we take the confirmation and go back. The confirmation was a justification as if the court had released that person," Milenkovic explained the procedure.
He also said that "the offices of the State Security have nothing to do with the prison, the only contact was that entrance door we passed through. The prison was attached to the State Security, all the windows from the first and second floor are facing the State Security building, most likely it was done so that when these people are interrogated there in the DB, those in the prison can hear".
Vasić also asked his client about the claims of certain witnesses in this trial "about the screams" that reached them, i.e. "were there any cases of detainees being mistreated by the DB?"
Dragiša replied that 90% of the detainees were mistreated and that they were interrogated by the State Security.
"Some 10% of the people, at least I led, were not mistreated."
When asked by the lawyer what the procedure was "after the interrogation in the State Security", Milenkovic said that if he and his fellow guards noticed that force had been applied to the detainees, they had to inform the inspectors.
"If force was used on a detainee, and it often is, that same inspector must sign that force was used on that person. They never damaged the face of the detainees, but they did on the hands, thick flesh, legs. If the inspector won't sign the certificate, we go back and inform the boss," said Milenkovic.
The bosses they informed were RP and A. Š.
The warden of the prison, as explained by Milenkovic, never wore a uniform as some witnesses testified, but, as he says, he was always in a suit, and that during the war conflicts he was in prison a couple of times. He also said that Lj. C. often stayed in Kosovo after the bombing, while the indictment was filed, that he had a law office for a long time.
About witnesses
Referring to the testimony of witness D. Lj., Milenkovic said that the State Security "probably picked him up because they couldn't find his brother." "Knowing the man, I thought he would tell the truth, however, since this trial has been going on for 20 months, a campaign came, the man used the opportunity to accuse me of beating him both in Pristina and Lipljan. I swore to my children that I did not touch any of them, especially him. Imagine what a fool I would have to be to ask the man I beat in Pristina and Lipljan to testify in my favor. However, what they said witnesses, it cannot be described in words, the fact that they went through DB".
He also said that he met some ex-prisoners in the years after the war, that some of them came to Gračanica to the market and to restaurants, and that the injured AM also came to Ivan Marković's tavern, which used to work in the prison. Milenkovic denied the accusations that he and his colleague Ivana Marković mistreated prisoners as they passed through the cordon of prison guards, pointing out that Marković was fired from the prison back in 97. together with another colleague.
Defense: Milenkovic told the truth, regardless of whether the Serbian or Albanian side will like it
Milenkovic's lawyer, Dejan A. Vasić, said that his client presented the absolute truth to the court today.
"In the statement that Dragiša started today, our goal is to give one absolute truth related to the events of the war, regardless of whether that truth will appeal to the Serbian or Albanian side. Dragiša began his statement today honestly regarding all the events that preceded the war and everything that happened during the war in the District Prison in Pristina, regardless of whether someone liked it or not. He stated that there was certain mistreatment, certain categories of detainees and that this mistreatment was in to the premises of the State Security. Dragiša could not know who did it, he was only performing his duties as a prison guard and nothing more," said Dejan A. Vasić.
Filipović: Logical statement of Milenkovic
Lawyer Jovana Filipović also agrees with her colleague Vasić.
"After today's hearing of Dragiša, who I believe gave a logical statement, which is above all honest, and really any observer who could objectively hear the presentation today and the statements of previous witnesses, can conclude who was honest and who was not. We interrupted this hearing today due to obligations that were planned earlier, but tomorrow we will continue the hearing of Dragiša and the next hearing will be for giving closing arguments, so we are in the final phase of this case."
The questioning of Dragiša Milenkovic by the defense and then by the prosecutor will continue tomorrow, after which the closing arguments of both sides will follow, and then the verdict.
Dragiša Milenković was arrested on June 21, 2023, and the Prosecution filed an indictment against him at the end of December of the same year. According to the indictment, as a prison guard during the conflict in Kosovo in 1998 and 1999, in the prisons in Pristina and Lipljan, in the capacity of an official, and in co-perpetration with other officials, violating the rules of international law during the conflict, "systematically mistreated Albanian prisoners, torturing them in an inhuman manner with various objects."
