Defence to seek throwing out of indictment against Kosovo-Metohija Serb - lawyer

PRISTINA - The defence team of a Kosovo-Metohija Serb charged by Pristina with alleged war crimes will seek a throwing out of his indictment and file a complaint against evidence presented against him because the indictment is based solely on witness accounts, lawyer Jovana Filipovic announced on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, Dragisa Milenkovic from the village of Kisnica near Gracanica appeared in his first hearing before the basic court in Pristina and the indictment was read out to him.

"There is not a single piece of evidence of injuries sustained by the plaintiffs or any other evidence... We will request that the court throw out the indictment and release Dragisa," Filipovic said.

Lawyer Dejan Vasic said Milenkovic faced poor living conditions in a Podujevo prison and did not leave his cell, and added that he believed all conditions were in place to put Milenkovic in house arrest for the duration of the trial.

"Dragisa's family and my colleagues and I are ready to swear he will not leave Gracanica," he said.

Milenkovic is charged with involvement in war crimes committed against civilians in Lipljan and Pristina prisons during the 1998-1999 conflict in Kosovo-Metohija, when he worked as a prison guard.

After the indictment was read out, Milenkovic pleaded not guilty.

He was arrested in Kisnica on June 21 last year and indicted on December 26.