Iber-Lepenc attack: witness who heard the powerful blast testifies in court

At the Basic Court in Prishtina, Milena Pashpereviq, a witness for the injured party, testified on Tuesday about the damage caused to her house by the attack on the Iber Lepenc canal on November 29, 2024, in Varagë, Zubin Potok.

She said that night, at the moment of the explosion, her house shook, the foundation moved, and there was other material damage.

“I was lying in my house, there was no one in the house. I can’t specify the time, but I remember a very big detonation, I think it was dark. When I went out and saw that a large amount of water was coming toward my house, the cars had come because of the water. My house is below the main road, while the event happened above the main road. The detonation was big, the house shook, the foundation moved, and the stove pipe came out of its place, and in those moments I thought it might be an earthquake. I went to the window to see what had happened, since I had heard the explosive, I saw water in a very large amount, because it is near my house, I called my mother on the phone and asked for help to come and see what was happening,” she said.

Asked by special prosecutor Bekim Kodraliu whether she had been afraid, she described the fear she had felt.

“Yes, very much, because I was alone in the house,” she said.

The witness said there was also damage to the stable and to agricultural land.

“There are also photographs. I can’t know exactly how much the damage was, but we had stables that were damaged, we were also engaged in agriculture and the agricultural land was damaged. In those moments we asked for help; only the mayor of the municipality helped us with a sum of 1,300 euros. It’s not that our damage was compensated, but in those moments he helped us,” she said.

Asked whether she seeks compensation for the damage from the persons suspected of having committed the criminal act, she said “no.”

After her testimony concluded, Millosh Deloviq, the lawyer of the defendant Dragisha Viçentijeviq, said the FBI expert should be heard.

“We remain that the FBI expert be heard,” he requested.

Prosecutor Bekim Kodraliu opposed his proposal.

“As the prosecution we oppose the defense’s proposals because in this criminal investigation international partners were also engaged, so during the investigation phase we undertook all necessary actions for the full clarification of this criminal case. We interviewed other witnesses and other suspects; yesterday, from all the evidence we secured, we proved beyond reasonable doubt that these two defendants are the perpetrators of this criminal act. Any other witness from the defense side will prolong the criminal procedure,” he said.

The lawyer insisted that the FBI expert testify, since, according to him, the expert had stated there was a match between the boot prints of his defendant and the mud at the blast site.

“That expert is supposed to have verified that the soil beyond the canal matches the boots found in the house. It is of high importance that this expert be heard because we as the defense have many questions regarding this report,” he requested.

Meanwhile, the other lawyer, Nebojsha Vlajiq, who represents the defendant Jovan Viçentijeviq, proposed his witnesses.

“When at the Hague Tribunal the defense proposes witnesses, the judge asks only two questions: how many witnesses do you have and how much time do you need; the public prosecutor has nothing to approve here. It is true that since the investigation phase I proposed witnesses, but also later in the review phase on March 16 I submitted to the court the submission in which I proposed all the witnesses, I also offered the addresses and proposed other evidence. The witnesses are Tijana and Dejan Viçentijeviq, Jovan’s nephew and niece, and Jovan was at their house, at the critical time. The third witness, Trifun Bojoviq, he is right there in that neighborhood near the house with a market, and the defendant at that time went to him,” he said.

The presiding judge, Vesel Ismaili, approved the defense’s proposals for witnesses.

“Regarding the proposal, the trial panel unanimously decides; the defense’s proposals for witnesses are approved,” he said.

The next hearing against the three accused for the attack on Iber Lepenc will be held on October 19 at 1:15 p.m.

The Special Prosecution of the Republic of Kosovo (SPRK) has filed an indictment against brothers Dragisha and Jovan Viçentijeviq, and against Igor Dimoviq, who are charged with the November 29, 2024 attack on the Iber-Lepenc canal in Varagë, Zubin-Potok.

According to the Prosecution’s indictment, brothers Dragisha and Jovan Viçentijeviq, on November 29, 2024, at around 6:50 p.m., in the village of Varagë, Municipality of Zubin Potok, placed explosives in the “Ibër Lepenc” canal section, public infrastructure that serves for drinking water supply and the needs of the Kosovo Energy Corporation (KEK) for electricity production.

The indictment says the accused, together with several other still-unknown persons, after a prior agreement, with the aim of seriously intimidating the country’s population and endangering the constitutional order and security of the Republic of Kosovo, placed a considerable amount of explosives for military use (about 20 kilograms of Trinitrotoluene “TNT”) inside the canal.

With these actions, according to the Prosecution, the accused caused a serious risk to the life and safety of the population and damage to the state’s critical infrastructure, where in this case the injured party — Iber Lepenc — suffered material damage worth 376,774.70 euros, as KosovaPress reports.