9 minutes agoThe EU after raising charges against Thaci and Wessel: Strong Support of the Special Court
Periskopi(6 years ago)
(6 years ago)The European Union has said it is the strong “for the work” of the Special Court and Special Prosecutor, because they are the key “evidence of Kosovo's commitment to the rule of law”, which is at the same time the main element of Kosovo's EU path. Through an official response, the EU has said it does not comment on [...] procedures.
Through an official response, the EU has said it does not comment on the procedures of the Special Prosecutor's Office and Specialised Chambers, in terms of their work, and that these issues should be addressed to these mechanisms.
It is very important that the Special Prosecutor's Office and Specialised Chambers continue to do their work independently, without interference”, has been said in response.
This response comes after the announcement by the Specialised Prosecutor's Office on Wednesday that on April 24th it has sent to Kosovo's Specialised Chambers, headquartered in The Hague, an indictment with ten points for review, in which Kosovo President Hashim Thaci, chairman of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, Kadri Wessel and others are charged with a series of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including unlawful murder, forced extinction of persons, persecution and torture.
In the ten-point indictment, President Thaci, Wessel and others are charged with a series of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including illegal murder, forced disappearance of persons, persecution and torture.
In a media communiqué, the Prosecutor's Office has announced that:
“In the indictment claims that Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veselin and other suspects have been prosecuted responsible for approximately 100 unlawful killings. The crimes presented in the indictment include hundreds of identified Albanian, Serbian and Roma victims of Kosovo and political opponents”.
It has been said that the indictment is the result of a lengthy investigation and that a Special Court preliminary procedure judge is analyzing the indictment to decide whether to confirm the charges.
The Kosovo Court, composed of Specialised Chambers and the Specialised Prosecutor's Office in The Hague, has been formed with the insistence of the international community, with constitutional changes from the Kosovo Assembly.
The court was founded with the Kosovo Assembly ruling after the 2011 Council of Europe report, in which Swiss Senator Dick Marty speaks of alleged crimes “members of the Kosovo Liberation Army to ethnic minorities and political rivals“, from January 1998 until December 2000.
