Special Court: We've been working for a year and a half, we have 700 thousand pages of paperwork and we're interviewing witnesses.

The Special Court's Special Prosecutor's Office has confirmed that it is under way to interview witnesses for alleged crimes.

The witnesses are being questioned and investigating various evidence about the ongoing investigation into the establishment of charges from this prosecutor”, it says in response.

The same explains that there are about 700 thousand pages of material raising the charges, documents that are being investigated, so even as Special Prosecutor Christopher Bennett says, they cannot provide details about them so they can't harm the investigation.

This amounts to about 700 thousand pages of material, including about 7,000 documents, along with about 6 thousand related evidence, such as video, photo, transcripts and other items, which are currently being discussed and assessed. For rights, privacy and security of those affected by any indictment, including witnesses, victims and the accused, each decision will be made after the full and careful review of all the” evidence, he continued.

They indicated that they cannot provide details from the development of this process because it can be damaged but, they showed that SPS has already created a communication platform where all citizens can personally contact the special prosecutor if they have any evidence or information to provide.

On the official page of the Specialised Chambers and the Specialised Prosecutor's Office of Kosovo, decisions on the adoption of the work regulations of these institutions, the code of judicial ethics for appointed judges, and working guides for adopted regulations are found.

Kosovo Specialised Prosecutor Christopher Bennett told KALLXO.com that the SPS has not yet made a decision to establish any charges, so I cannot even provide information about questioning witnesses for the reasons of their privacy and safety.

“In line with the highest standards of prosecutorial practice, law and our legal and ethical obligations, the Prosecutor of Specialists (SPO) does not provide specific information for witnesses or other parts of our investigations. This is done to maintain the integrity of ongoing investigations, privacy and security of witnesses and persons co-operating with investigators. However, we can say that a part of our ongoing work involves witnessing interviews. The investigation is continuing and progressing effectively.”, Bennett said.

ZPSK spokesman indicated that the Special Prosecutor's Office and Task Force Specialist in place before them has gathered evidence of the introduction of the charges for six years.

According to Bennett, the rules of procedures and evidence of the Special Chambers set the highest standards of international criminal practice, so he also vowed to meet them.

He stressed that the charges would be raised only after meeting the legal obligations so that a fair trial could be reached.

In addition, SPS spokesman Bennett indicated that the Special Prosecutor's Office has created a communication platform in three languages -- Albanian, Serbian and English -- where all citizens can communicate with prosecutors if they own any information.

For these reasons, a verdict on charges is taken with responsibility and professionalism, with a clear picture of how to meet the legal obligations to conduct a fair trial within a reasonable time. Anyone who wants to be presented with relevant information is encouraged to do so and can contact an SPO prosecutor or investigator through a dedicated form of communication. All contacts will be handled confidentially”, he concluded for callos.com.

Kosovo Specialised Chambers spokeswoman(DHSK), Angela Greep, told me that the Specialised Chambers have been functional since July of this year and are constantly adopting legal documents to increase the efficiency of this institution.

While showing that during May of this year, the second lists of defenders have been published to suspect, accused and victim or anyone else enjoying the right to legal representation before the DHSK.

Kosovo's “Specialised Chambers (DHSK) are fully functional in the judicial aspect since July 5th 2017, with the introduction of the Procedure and Evidence Adjust into force. Since then, the DHSK is ready to accept any parachute including possible charges. Meanwhile, Kosovo's Specialised Chambers continue their work on adopting a number of legal documents in the function of increasing the institution's efficiency. The list of all legal documents and prefixes (including decisions) is on our website.”, Greep said.