Roses: Kosovo may try to shift Special Court to Pristina

At a confidential conference for European diplomats in The Hague on 11 February, Kosovo Specialised Chambers Speaker Ekaterina Trendafilova warned that the Court is facing increased efforts from within Kosovo to prevent continued legal procedures, including those against former Kosovo president Hashim Thaci, who has been indicted for war crimes last year, reports Euronews.

In an informational transcript, provided by Euronews, Trandafilova said efforts were already under way to counter the law that founded the Court in 2015 and may include attempts or pardoning convicts for crimes or even to move the entire court dealt with and its confidential volume data from The Hague, where it is currently located, to Pristina, Kosovo's capital.

This will certainly endanger the lives and security of people who have or will be willing to cooperate with us. Such changes, of course, would have a shocking effect on witnesses, who may not want to come forward from now on, thus making it impossible for the Specialised Prosecutor to proceed with his case”, Trendafilova said.

Trendafilova, who is of Bulgarian citizenship, also warned of the safety of witnesses who appear in prosecution in ongoing cases and urged European countries to consider a cross-involve “co-operation agreement” through which witnesses and their families could be moved to Europe.

Without these agreements, it will be very difficult if not impossible in some cases to ensure that testimony can be given freely and without any fear”, Trendafilova said.

In October last year, the Specialised Chambers have indicted Thaci and former Kosovo Parliament Speaker Kadri Wessel on war crimes charges, along with two other former KLA members.