“Procurory is investigating 64 cases of sexual rape that occurred during the fight”

Drita Hajdari, prosecutor and leader of this department, in an interview for Radio Free Europe, says a number of perpetrators have been identified by the victims, and, according to her, at the court's order, international literature has been issued.

In the interview, she also says, that after the release of international literature, their ban by INTERPOL (The International Police Organization) is expected.

Radio Free Europe: Mrs. Hajdari, The PSRK-War Crimes Department has long been working on investigating cases of sexual violations that occurred during the war. What's going on with these cases?

Light Hajdari: As it is now known, the Special Prosecutor of the Republic of Kosovo(PSRK) has acknowledged competencies for war crimes in late 2018, when we have inherited an enormous number of subjects from EULEX. Among those subjects has been a small number of sexual violence presentations during the Kosovo war. In such cases, however, nothing has been done.

With the acceptance of the competencies, I personally as leader of the War Crimes Department have started with a campaign for awareness of victims of sexual violence. I've met them personally, and I've also shown them the procedures, the expectations they might have of the prosecution to encourage them to present these cases, because there's a huge reluctance to present these cases that are also understandable in view of the nature of these criminal acts, the circumstances in which they have been committed, especially the brutality with which these works have been committed.

Radio Free Europe: What stage are you in processing these subjects?

Light Hajdari: At the moment we have 64 cases which are active, in progress. Of these 64 cases, however, it does not mean that we have been able to identify in each case the head of these criminal acts. A number of leaders have been identified by the victim at the tribunal's order has been issued international literature and we are pending. It means, these international letters are executed by Interpol and we expect that wherever these perpetrators are found to be arrested and extradited to Kosovo.

For us as a prosecutor, it is important to document crime, regardless of whether we will be able to detect or identify the chief. The absence of [identification of] the chief does not mean that crime has not occurred, so by proceeding these cases, we are somehow collecting both evidence and statistics for this kind of criminal acts committed during the Kosovo war.

Radio Free Europe: Do you have new cases in recent years that have come to the prosecution and talk about the violence that happened to you?

Light Hajdari: Yes, most of these 64 cases are reported cases after we have accepted the competencies, which means by the end of 2018. Disport to some extent is understandable given that earlier the mission UNMIK, now i EULEX has interviewed the victims through the interpreter and has been extremely uncomfortable and dangerous for the victim to give a witness through the performance, which could also be her neighbour, or family member or someone familiar. And the risk of revealing the victim's identity has always ended. With direct contact with the police and the local prosecutor, things go much easier, we speak Albanian, we get easier and the procedure goes differently.

Radio Free Europe: Is work in this regard going at the right pace?

Light Hajdari: We lost a lot of time. Remember that what is painful in some way is the fact that immediately after the end of the wars in the former republics of Yugoslavia, states involved in wars have been allowed to establish special courts for war crimes, and this has not been allowed to Kosovo. As you know, U n NMIC has first decided to proceed with these cases, then EULEX. Almost 20 years passed, after these missions were completed in Kosovo, when these cases were handed over. We have about 900 war crimes cases and about 2000 missing files and we've really been in an extremely difficult situation.

However, we have engaged and have decided that such cases will properly proceed to collect as much evidence as possible until it is too late. What keeps us, however, is the fact that crime is a crime and that it will be punished sooner or later. War crimes are not recorded. It means that as long as the chief is alive even while he is alive, there is hope that these cases will be prosecuted and that the chief officer will be brought to justice.

Radio Free Europe: What are the biggest challenges you are currently facing?

Light Hajdari: The biggest challenge is the reluctance of victims to talk about such cases, the submission of such cases to the police or to the prosecutor. Their fear of revealing their identity. They have experienced horror because rape is an extremely serious act in peacetime.

In times of war, these works are performed under extremely harsh circumstances followed by humiliation and many physical pains, which then affect the victim's mental pain.

I say the prosecution will do its part of the job, prosecution of the perpetrators of these crimes, investigation, discovery, registration of these cases. However, sexual violence in Kosovo is the issue of each citizen of Kosovo. Each citizen should become aware and realize that victims of sexual violence are not to blame for what happened to them and that these victims are victims of war and should be treated accordingly.

Radio Free Europe: Is there any investigation into these cases of male rapists?

Light Hajdari: It's not a large number, it's all four or five cases, where the male gender is represented as a victim. Here's a reluctance by men to present these cases. The reason is known. I can mention a case of a murdered male I interviewed in Sweden. He lives in Sweden, I went to Sweden and interviewed him for this crime. He has managed to identify the chief, and the chairman is now on the run according to the international issue.

Radio Free Europe: When can the next executions be expected?

Light Hajdari: We, through the Justice Ministry, will begin the extradition procedure. The extradition procedure is one thing we expect from the states they love and show willingness to support us in prosecution and punishment war criminals. The second type of charges are in absentia, meaning without the physical presence of the superiors, and these initial charges after meeting certain legal terms can be expected as early as next year, in the first half of next year, immediately after meeting these legal deadlines.

Radio Free Europe: How many cases?

Light Hajdari: There are a total of four cases of misjudgment. I want to stress one more thing about the number of victims of sexual violence. We know that there's a number in the public that's based on some prognosis that isn't based on exact research or real research. It's mentioned the number of 20,000 victims, but at the moment I can say there are no real statistics and we can't even count on the number presented in the prosecution, because earlier I showed that victims are reluctant to report.

But there must be a more physical and actual research on the number of victims. No, I don't think it's a real number. Based on the number presented in the nongovernmental organisation dealing with the protection of victims of sexual violence, as well as the number presented at the government Commission for recognising the status of victims of sexual violence.

Radio Free Europe: How much justice can be achieved for victims through misjudgment?

Light Hajdari: The lack of judgment is a first-ever satisphation for the victim. The victim may benefit from judgment in the absence of that justice for the crime that happened to him. On the other hand, though, judgment in want also represents the record of crime. As I said earlier, the absence of the boss does not mean that crime did not happen. This is where we have the lead identified, procedure in his absence. But if we come to that person in the future, judgment will be repeated in his presence.

Radio Free Europe: As the documents are being taken into account, the evidence provided by women giving them to the Commission for verification and recognition of the status of victims of sexual violence.

Light Hajdari: We usually ask for information from the Commission if the victim has appeared in the Commission, and if the victim's status has been recognized, that's all. Otherwise, the prosecution has its own procedures, its evidence. And there's also something very interesting that we've witnessed in the Attorney's that crime exists and we've proven that the particular person is a victim of sexual violence, and the Commission has experienced otherwise.

Radio Free Europe: To identify the perpetrators, what legal means do you use or have?

Light Hajdari: Interestingly, even after more than two decades passed, victims are able to identify it. They first give the physical description, what the person looked like, the lead at the time of his work... eye color, hair color, length, weight, age. Then, Kosovo police prepare the photoalum with several photos similar to seemingly physical age, and under those circumstances, they identify. It means, their memories and what happened to them has memorized in their minds its chief and appearance.

Radio Free Europe: In a form of both the media and the general media, an opinion has been given that this issue has not the proper attention to work on it, not only in the Prosecutor's Office, but in general. What do you think? Does the matter have the right attention?

Light Hajdari: As far as prosecution is concerned, these crimes are a priority. I'm not saying this just to say, but I've also witnessed it in our work, even in the number of cases in prosecution and so on. It's true it's a small number of cops. I expect that in the future we will get more cops who will handle these cases. But within the police are certain people who work exclusively for sexual violence during the war and they are women, since most of our victims are women.

Radio Free Europe: What's the number of them working?

Light Hajdari: There are two cops.