18 û 21 April 2000

The trial of 145 Kosovo Albanians, the so-called ôDjakovica Group,ö opital. The defendants include 18 young adults, 65 who are under the age of 30, three Hasici brothers, and several others are brothers or fathers and sons. Most have secondary school degrees while Camil Hadzibeciri was a professor at the PriÜtina University Department of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. The majority of the efendants are long-time residents of Djakovica.

Twenty-nine defendants were questioned by Investigating Judge Milomir Lazic in November last year while the remainder exercised their right to remain silent. Those who gave statements to the investigating judge repeated them in entirety in court. The 80 defendants heard so far described how they were arrested after being ordered to leave their homes in the old part of DjakovOut of the 300 arrested, about 150 elderly and sick were released on 16 May while 154 received 30-day police detention orders on the basis of the Decree on the Application of the Criminal Procedure Code in War-time. They were subsequently transferred to Pec and held in the basement of Salji BananÆs store and, on 18 May, to the Dubrava Prison in Istok. Nine men in this group were killed between 19 and 23 May, during and after the NATO bombing of the prison.

On 24 June,tayed indoors from the time the NATO bombing started. Many had soldiers and police billeted in their homes who remained there after the defendants and their families were ordered to leave. All movement in Djakovica was strictly controlled by the policc, Dragan Zonjic, Rajko Jelusic, Djordje Dozet, Milan Vukovic and Milorad Novakovic and Oliver Lazarevic from Kraljevo are acting as defense counsel for 112 of the accused.