Two new lawsuits against NATO over the use of depleted uranium in Kosovo and Metohija during the 1999 bombing of Yugoslavia will be filed in Belgrade’s High Court next week
According to attorney Srdjan Aleksic, who is filing the lawsuits on behalf of some 3,000 people, in cooperation with an Italian lawyer, he told TV Prva that new lawsuits are also being prepared against the Alliance.
According to him, the previous lawsuit was filed last January and sent to the defendant, i.e. NATO, but no response has been received so far, the lawyer said.
“This lawsuit has all the relevant documents, evidence, it is in English, and now they are given a deadline to assert themselves”, – Aleksic said.
The plaintiffs against the Alliance are more than 3,000 people – citizens, members of the Serbian army, reservists, and civilians who were in Kosovo and Metohija during the NATO bombing. The lawsuit was written in collaboration with an Italian lawyer, who was involved in the final 250 cases in which the court ordered compensation to Italian soldiers who developed deadly diseases due to the depleted uranium.
According to Aleksic, the disease is very specific, but in all of these cases it was proven that heavy metals were found in the blood of the victims. The same disease has been observed in Serbian soldiers, reservists and civilians who were in the bombing areas.
The defence lawyer considers that the available evidence was very strong, and it was on the basis of that evidence that the Italian court reached verdicts in favour of Italian soldiers who were in Kosovo and Metohija at the time when NATO bombed the territory.
Based on all the available evidence, and based on a similar claim of the Italian soldiers, lawyer Srdjan Aleksic will demand compensation of at least €300 thousand for each of the victims. Many experts say that the Serbian citizens have every right to file claims against NATO.