The ombudsman counted the violations to Trendafiloves: Disturbing, trusting evidence from Serbia, trust Kosovo institutions

As it becomes known in the communique, Celay has counted the most of the violations made by Kosovo's Special Chambers.

Starting with Serbia's evidence, continued detention, equality of weapons and other important details of the processes under way there.

In a media communiqué, the Ombudsman has said the meeting was held at Trendafilova's request.

“Initially, the ombudsman initiated his concern if a fair and impartial trial is guaranteed according to European Court for Human Rights standards regarding the rights of the accused in the procedure, which are also defined by the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo. In this respect, the Ombudsman spoke about the equality of weapons in relation to evidence and the way this evidence was provided, and in particular referring to the evidence provided by the Republic of Serbia, given that Serbia is a state that has hostile attitudes towards the Kosovo Liberation Army, part of which the accused are. He added that given the way, the road and procedures on how these evidence is provided as creditable and how highly compromised they may be at the moment they appear in court, and how much protection is given that these evidence is rejected by receiving information from the parties it has provided to”, it is said in the communiqué.

The ombudsman has told the Special Speaker that it is disturbing how the Constitutional Court functions as part of the Chambers, and the same ombudsman. According to Celt, this does not meet the criteria for work independently.

“He pointed out that the Constitutional Chamber does not exercise the function of fair courts, but has characterisations of constitutional assessment, decisions and other acts and control of human rights in line with international standards that are part of the Republic of Kosovo legislation. More than that, the more disturbing makes the fact that the ombudsman is part of this structure and that this is contrary to the principles of Paris that determine that the ombudsman should be independent, founded by law or Constitution, elected in a transparent manner, and exercises his mandate independently and unconfirmed by any authority, which the Ombudsman of the People in the Specialised Chambers does not appear to meet these standards”, is said to be in more communique.

“Kolaj has also mentioned wiretaping visits to the detention centre, which, according to him, violate privacy. He stressed that continuing detention and the fact that the Special is not trusting Kosovo institutions is unacceptable. The hearing of conversations and visits to detention have also been raised as a concern because we consider that despite the fact that these may be allowed by law, but violate the principle of privacy, family life and undermine effective protection if these interceptions occur even in proportion to the defendants' defence teams. The ombudsman considers the problem in itself to be the length of detention. This length and not changing measures with alternative measures as if the Court does not trust Kosovo institutions that they can guarantee respect for those measures and ensure a fair and unhindered process of”, is disclosed in the media report.

The ombudsman has also mentioned compensation for the victims, and has stressed that the concerns raised are legitimate.

The ombudsman also stressed the issue of compensation for victims who are not on the same standard for those who are being injured in cases judged in the Republic of Kosovo because all should be treated equally.

The population's “Avocat at the end of the day reiterated the fact that despite the restrictions it has on the mandate in relation to Specialised Chambers, it still has a role in relation to the overall functioning of the justice system, part of which are also the courts. In these circumstances when the concerns raised are legitimate, of course, he has responsibilities, constitutional and legal, and he reacts to all these issues. The ombudsman stressed the importance of clarifying the public on all the issues raised, viewing this as the interest of justice and the court itself”, the communique concludes.

In the end, Celay has asked Trandafilves for even more transparency.

The meeting was held yesterday, under strict security conditions. After the meeting, the first Special refused to talk about the media.

She cancelled the press conference with the example of security and protest by veterans.