Special Court in February expected to invite other KLA commanders to The Hague

January marked the concrete start of the work of Specialised Chambers, as the Special Court for War Crimes in Kosovo is called.

The questioning of some of the former leaders and members of the former Kosovo Liberation Army (UÇK) is expected to continue next month, while there has still been no charge of their involvement in war crimes and fighting.
Former Albanian commanders claim the court is unfair, but claims are serious and approach to the tribunal should be serious.

Tens of former Kosovo Liberation Army soldiers (UÇK) have been invited and a number of them have already been questioned by Special War Crimes Prosecutor investigators in Kosovo. Interviews are being held in Pristina and Gahah, where the Special Court headquarters is located. So far only one of the guests has refused to appear at the Prosecutor.

One of the former KLA commanders, Rrustem Mustafa, who has been questioned for two straight days at The Hague, said the claims are serious, and that the approach to the Special Court for Kosovo should be serious.

The Special Prosecutor has not commented so far on interviewing former KLA members.
Her officials have not even wanted to talk about the quality in which invitations for questioning have been sent whether guests are witnesses or suspects, which has prompted reactions of human rights organisations in Kosovo but also justice experts.

Nor have the names of those invited ever been published by the Prosecutor.
The guests, meanwhile, say they are willing to face justice and convinced that the confrontation will prove the purity of the Kosovo Albanian war.

Even Kosovo President Hashim Thaci has said he is willing to respond if he receives an invitation from the Prosecutor.

Early August 2015 Kosovo's parliament overwhelmingly approved the Law for the Specialised Court that, under the names of the Specialised Chambers, will operate in The Hague under Kosovo laws and with international prosecutors and judges. / VoA