Ten counts in Kosovo war crimes trial, 4 suspects in custody

Four persons -- three Serbs and one Bosniak -- as war crimes suspects in Kosovo -- are found in custody, while totaling ten cases are in Kosovo's war crimes trial.

Eight of these cases are in first-degree examination, and two are in second degree, the Economist Online told Amer Alija co-ordinator and legal analyst at the Kosovo Humanitarian Law Fund (FDHK).

There are 10 cases in the procedure, eight cases are close to the first-degree court, and two cases are in the second degree. Also, a few months ago, four people for war crimes were arrested, where these four persons are in custody and investigations against them are continuing. So, it is expected that, with the outcome of the investigations, either the indictment is set up or the investigation” is complete, he said.

During the past year, the maximum sentence was against defendants Goran Stanic to 15 years in prison, while the highest sentence was UNMIK's time to 20 years in prison.

As far as the trial in absentia is concerned, he said the sentences only occur on paper, because after the arrest of the same could require re-opening of procedures, thus making a procedure run twice.

There may be more court processes, but in our opinion as an organisation, victims will not have statistics if persons who are accused and tried in absentia are punished only on paper, given that the same law enables persons who have been convicted in absentia with the case of their arrest to demand that procedures be re-triald again from the beginning. Then we will create double, twice criminal procedures and it is not a statistical if persons convicted in absence, but the same are not serving the prison sentence”, he added. “So far the maximum sentence has been pronounced at UNMIK's time to 20 years in prison. So according to the former Yugoslav criminal law, the sentences are five years old, so the minimum is 5 years in prison and the maximum is 20 years in prison. Thus, mainly war crimes sentences have gone from five to 15 years in prison by Kosovo courts”.