In Search of Justice After 20 Years of Silence

It is presented to the media very short, saying it has decided to seek justice and at the same time has encouraged other women, as she said, victims of sexual violence, to take such a step.

“Today I am here to share with you my pain in my soul and to represent all my mothers, sisters, daughters, brothers who have this pain like me. I encourage them to come out like I did today. It's never easy to share the pain of the soul. I'm here to seek my own righteousness and thank you very much for your support”, Tahiri-Sleejmani said.

Shyhrete Tahiri-Sylejmani is a member of the Center for the rehabilitation of Torture Victims, which has consistently tried to help survivors of sexual violence.

Feride Rushiti, executive director of this centre, said there are many silent and unpunished stories in Kosovo.

“With full competence I say that in the UN (UNMIK Mission) period and EULEX (EU Mission) these crimes have remained unpunished. Therefore, we are gathered here to seek justice for 20 thousand women, girls, men and boys who have experienced this crime, horror, torture and mistreatment during the war period, Rushiti said.

She also said that even after 20 years of end of the war, no person has been punished for these crimes.

Therefore, today, through the public surrender of Mrs. Tahiri-Syleman's file, we also mobilize women and other men to seek justice for the crime done. We once ask the country's institutions to prioritize this issue, because without justice there is no peace for the survivors of sexual violence”, Rushiti said.

Shyhrete Tahiri-Slejmani is the second woman, after Vasfije Krasniqi Goodman, who publicly seeks to punish her violators. Based on statements and figures presented by Kosovo institutions during the 1998-1999 war, there are about 20,000 cases of sexual assault by members of Serbian forces.

For alleged war crimes, respectively, cases in which suspects are citizens of Serbia, Kosovo criminal prosecution authorities, in the absence of an extradition agreement with Serbia, the entire investigation and trial process can be carried out in the absence of a suspected person or persons.

Vasfije Krasniqi-Goodman, a year ago, has publicly confessed her story in Kosovo, which had happened 19 years earlier. She has confessed her story even at a hearing held in April at the Committee on Foreign Relations of the United States on the theme: ” War Victims in Kosovo”.

Finally, through a post on social networks, Vasfije Krasniqi-Goodman had also sought support from society in the case of Shyhrete Tahire-Syleman, writing: “Please rely on him as you supported me before a year”.

Rape is considered one of the worst crimes humanity knows and which, as in many countries in the world where there were wars and conflicts, took place in Kosovo during the 1998-99 conflict.

But, so far, no case has been reported whitened or judged by justice organs, whether in Kosovo or Serbia.

To ease the status of this category, in 2014, Kosovo's Assembly had adopted the necessary legal changes so that those who experienced these crimes during the war are recognized as the status of the victim of sexual violence, with which they have been able to obtain the legal pension that amounts to about 230 euros a month.

Minire Begaj-Balaj, chairman of the government Commission for recognition and verification of the status of persons violated during the recent war in Kosovo, in a response to Radio Free Europe, says that so far, from the total number of applications reaching 1110 people, status has been recognised to 491 victims.

The denied “we have 173 subjects, but here's the review process. Because it's a number of subjects that are under review, those who disagree with the decisions on the first degree”, Begaj-Balaj said.

Victims of sexual violence have already sought international justice. In April, the Kosovo Women's Steering Board has submitted to the United Nations Organisation petitioning Kosovo citizens through which international justice is required.

This petition was signed in 2014, out of more than 110 thousand citizens in the entire territory of Kosovo, expelled Serb-run municipalities. The aim of this petition has been and remains that, reportedly, the <x0 perpetrators of genocide crimes in Kosovo” be brought before justice organs.