War crimes in Kosovo, more Albanian convicts than Serbs

Over 800 thousand were violently expelled from their homes. Over 200,000 state and private objects were destroyed.

Even 18 years after the war, bringing the accused's bank to the chief of these criminal acts remains a challenge for justice system institutions.

Amer Alija, from the Fund for Humanitarian Law in an interview for Economy Online, has said that given that they possess for the period 20 June 1999 to 7 July 2017, it turns out that more Albanians have been convicted of war in Kosovo than Serbs.

But according to him, they also need to be taken to the basis of what the accused have been convicted of.

It turns out that a little more Albanians are convicted of war crimes, according to our statistics. but we must not forget what war crimes Albanians and Serbs have been convicted of. If we take an indictment that has been convicted of Serbs who are accused of prosecution, we have a lot of major crimes in that act, mass massacres, ethnic village cleansings. But when we get an act of Albanians then the crimes are more individual, there are persecutions, there's murder. Usually they focused on camps, or illegal bans in the” camps, Aliya has clarified.

International and local mechanisms were seized with the investigation and trial of war crimes committed in Kosovo.

Immediately after the war, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia with headquarters at The Hague began dealing with the investigation and trial of war crimes.

According to him, The Hague tribunal has charged 15 persons, 9 Serbs and 6 Albanians with war crimes. In turn, 6 Serbs and 2 Albanians have been sentenced.

As Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic on March 11th 2006 was found dead in his cell at The Hague, several months before the trial ended.

The “in The Hague Tribunal has been tried five cases, two cases against Albanians and three cases against Serbs. We have six people convicted by Serbs. Usually these persons have a major role, or hierarchy, for example interior affairs ministers, commanders and others”, Alija clarified.

War crimes seized in Kosovo U n NMIC from 1999 until 2008, followed by the European Law Rule Mission EULEX through mid-2014.

These two missions accused 112 persons, 61 Albanians, 48 Serbs and 2 Montenegrins. U n NMIC on EULEX has transferred 1197 cases after the mandate ends. EULEX, on the other hand, has transferred 50 208-person courses to locals until March of this year.

“ ... has been tried or 19 cases prosecuted against Albanians and 24 cases against Serbs. Of them 61 Albanians have been charged and 48 Serbs, so only within the courts of Kosovo. We have 33 Albanians convicted of war crimes in Kosovo and 4 Serbs convicted of war crimes in Kosovo”, Alija has said.

In 2015 The Kosovo Prosecutorial Council has established the War Crimes Department under the Special Prosecutor.

By March of this year, 300 subjects have been recorded in this department, which are known as the chief of the work, and 70 subjects are under investigation.

This department has only two prosecutors, which is considered insufficient to deal with such large numbers of subjects and with sensitive cases such as war crimes.

Only two prosecutors dealing with war crimes -- two local prosecutors -- are engaged. I think I should definitely increase the number of prosecutors dealing with these crimes, but the problem lies not only with investigations. The problem is that most post-war perpetrators are in Serbia. Kosovo and Serbia do not have any co-operation with extradited suspects, and I think without any agreement between Kosovo and Serbia, war crimes are no longer very successful no matter what the number of prosecutors --” -- Alija said from the Fund for Humanitarian Law.

Serbia in 2003 has established the War Crimes Department, where six judges are committed to the entire former Yugoslavia.

This court has charged 20 Albanians, 18 have been acquitted, 1 has been convicted and one is on the run. A total of 15 Serbs have been sentenced.

“In Belgrade we have 43 accused or 12 cases, out of them 15 persons are convicted, and we also have four cases against Albanians, where only one Albanian has been sentenced by Serbia, by the courts of Serbia”, he explained.