Special Court to Condemn Even Life in Prison

The first charges are expected to take place in next year, while the sentence for all accused will be life in prison. So has Kosovo Human Rights Fund Executive Director Bekim Blakaj announced for Online Economy.

Nobody can judge at this moment when we'll see the first aqacacus. There has been speculation that this end will be the time when we will see the first charges. No one can judge by considering that a large number of people have been invited for statements or as suspects as witnesses. Next year we can expect pre-” charges.

The size of the sentences will be served with the policies of penalties that have been brought to both Kosovo and the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. The maximum will be eternal, but in cases we can only see what” will be, he said.

Regarding the Kosovo Special Court's mandate, Blakaj says it is not defined, until he said the five-year term could be extended as long as the prosecution has arguments in the establishment of cases.

The timeframe of specialised rooms is not correctly and precisely defined by law. The mandate will be five years likely to last, but in all likelihood the specialised rooms can themselves continue the mandate as long as necessary, as long as the prosecution has evidence and can raise cases. We don't expect the work of the specialised chamber” to be completed after five years.

Among other things, Blakaj told Online Economy that an annex of veterans for the prosecution of Serbs and other war crimes suspects may not work.

So I demand that Kosovo authorities insist that war crimes be discussed in the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue.

I don't know if the demands of veterans will be taken into account for this during handling all the subjects that occurred during the war. But there always is a fair court, and if the political factor during the dialogue process with Serbia insists that a judicial co-operation be established between Serbia and Kosovo for war crimes. Then regular courts can prosecute all cases even when Serb forces committed crimes against Albanian civilians. At this point the Kosovo authorities should insist during the” dialogue, he has said.

The specialist has mandated for alleged crimes against humanity, for war crimes and other criminal acts linked to claims by Dick Marty's report, allegedly committed between January 1998 and December 2000.