Kosovo war prisoners deserve swift trial in fair court

Can I say my friend was thinking “Tony, am I right? You will be 81 this month, and tomorrow you will board a plane and fly across the ocean to visit some inmates in prison you do not know, pray with them; then you will get on a plane and return home. ”

It says: Tony Hall- Former Congressman

I said “Yes, that's about it.” I can say he was thinking “Toni, screezing himself! ”

I recently returned to visit three men from Kosovo pending trial at The Hague prison in Holland. All three, former President Hashim Thaci, former head of the Assembly Kadri Veselin and former incumbent President Jakup Krasniqi, have been held here for two long years, pending traces for allegedly committing crimes against humanity during the 1998 Kosovo war.

The charges against them are rooted in the Balkan War, an extremely violent and ugly war in the 1990s that came with Yugoslavia's collapse. Ethnic and religious tensions erupted, and Serbs, Bosniaks and Croats fought until the Dayton Peace Accords ended active fighting in 1995.

Unfortunately, she could not end all disputes, as violence erupted again in 1998 when Serbia and newly formed Kosovo fought. After the end of the fighting in Kosovo in 1999, charges of war crimes flew in every direction, and these three men are among the many accused.

The truth is the first victim of war and I will not pretend I have the wisdom to judge these three. I know that I went on this journey because of my faith and that sacred writing calls us to associate with those who are imprisoned, as Matthew 25:36 “I was in prison and you came to visit me” I've been helping feed people for years, but I haven't visited people in prison.

It was a short, exhausting journey, but exciting and wonderful in many ways. It was wonderful and rewarding to see the joy these men showed only by a simple act of visiting them. They were moved to come so far, without knowing them, just to pray and show love. It surprised me how much hope this little visit gave them.

I spent two days in their prison listening to their lives and stories. One of the men said: I protected my country. And now my country Kosovo and my family are free. ”

They have been in prison for over two years now and have not had a trial. Many of the charges are from more than 20 years ago, and while they await trial, key witnesses such as Richard Holbrooke and Madeline Albright have passed away. We know that their Serbian accusers are in line with Moscow and there are reports that President Putin and his representatives have offered much of the evidence against these people, through the Serbian government in the court that will judge this case.

The Kosovo government and its people are very pro-American. They believe, and some foreign affairs experts agree, that Putin's next country to cause division and slaughter in the world after Ukraine is Kosovo and the Balkans. One of the ways to do this is to destroy the image of the people and the country.

We all know late justice is denied justice. And wait in prison while the main witnesses die, of course justice is denied. As these people told me many times, all they want is a quick and fair trial and a fair court.

Before leaving, we prayed, read some holy writings, and they repeatedly embraced me with tears of joy and hope. I learned that the spiritual support for prisoners is not about who is innocent or guilty, but it is about bringing hope to our brothers and sisters at their darkest hour. I don't know what's going to happen to these men, but I know I care about them and I pray they get the quick and fair judgment they deserve. This has been a powerful experience for me, and I will never forget these men.

Tony Hall is a former conflictman, UN ambassador and founder of the “Hall Huger” Initiative