Bosch criticises the SPS: There is no evidence of Thaci's conviction and others

He says there is no evidence arguing SPS claims of war crimes against Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veselini, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi. In an interview for Kosova Prees, from The Hague, Bosch stresses that he expects the court to declare itself innocent and release him in lack of evidence.

On Monday, final statements in the largest special court process have been launched.

The chief specialised prosecutor, Kimberly West, has sought a sentence of 45 years in prison for Thaci and others.

Meanwhile, defence teams have demanded that the same be declared innocent at all points of the indictment, saying there is no evidence arguing the SPS claims.

Former Dutch Ambassador Robert Bosch says it is not true that the Liberation Army has been criminal, on the contrary, adds that it would not co-operate with NATO.

“45 years of prison sentence based on what? I mean, I'm so sorry. I can't understand it at all because, as you know, this process has been taking a long time and there have been many witnesses, and many have really undermined what the prosecution said. What I don't understand in the prosecution is that they seem to be just enemies of those four people. It's like they're only there to be convicted at any cost. Normally you would say: “Dual, we have a process, they're charged with”. I'm not a lawyer, but they're accused, then they come many witnesses and you think: “Oh, maybe it's not as bad as we thought” That would be normal. And now, in fact, they did it worse. They still say the KLA was a criminal organisation, which is not true and has proved to be untrue. It wasn't a criminal organization because I was personally involved in 1999 with the Dutch government and NATO. And of course, we knew we were using it. The KLA as NATO troops on the ground. And that, of course, was not a criminal organization, otherwise we would not cooperate with them. They worked for us. So what this prosecutor is saying is de facto, is that NATO was co-operating with a criminal organisation, which certainly is not true. And again, Clark and all the other witnesses have confirmed that this was not the case”, Bosch claims.

The trial chamber, which is led by Judge Charles Smith, according to the Dutch diplomat, should be neutral in his decision against the accused.

The judges must be neutral. They're not the same as the prosecution. So I hope and must believe that judges are really objective. I think if they're targets, they mean the prosecution has a very weak case. In my opinion, they're going to dismiss the whole case by saying: “listen, it's a very weak case” and then either release them for lack of hard evidence, or say they have nothing to do with it. I'd be surprised that the court would compromise itself... I mean, the judge, of course, shouldn't put pressure on them, but I believe they're honest people. In that case, based on what I've seen, they can't condemn these people. He can't. It would be very strange if they went after prosecution”, he adds to KosovaPress.

For the SPS's request for a 45-year sentence on former KLA leaders, Kosovo and the region's leaders have reacted.

Bosch also says this is absurd, since he is considered life in prison.

This is absurd because it is equal to eternal punishment. If 45 years remain inside, they cannot survive, they will die in prison. So it's a life sentence. Like I said, it's an absurd request. But it's also absurd because there's very little evidence. It's even more bizarre to ask for something like that when there's some evidence. Even if the KLA were a criminal organisation, and Thaci would be the head and give instructions that have proved to be not true again 45 years old. However, I must trust the judges. What I fear is that if judges do their work properly (released), the prosecution may appeal against release, which means the process will continue for years and years and years”, the former ambassador of the Netherlands to Kosovo points out.

In Pristina, it will protest on the 18th anniversary of Kosovo's declaration of Independence, with the motto “Justice, No Policy”.

Former Ambassador Robert Bosch says this is necessary, since Kosovo is offended by claims that the Kosovo Liberation Army is criminal.

“protests are perfect as long as they're not violent. I don't like violent protests like what you saw in Tirana last week, but the protests are fine. In this case, there's room for protest, because you call it a riot. The NLA in the criminal organization is an insult to your country. It's an insult. Because if you look now at Serbia, which was the main responsibility for the whole problem at first, many people who were involved are still there. I think the head of their army is one of the people who was involved in the Kosovo murders. They have a lot of people sitting there laughing. Dacic and Vuciq were also similarly involved as Thaci did not kill people by hand, but were ministers of propaganda. They were really helping Milosevic. Then how come they sit there comfortable? Why aren't they 45 years in jail? Because they've done things much like what Thaci allegedly did. Thaci was promoting U. The CK as a liberation movement, while these were promoting Milosevic's policies for Greater Serbia at the expense of Albanians in Kosovo and Bosniaks in Bosnia. But they're there”, Bosch points out.

Former Dutch Ambassador Robert Bosch also speaks of the creation of new institutions, which says Kosovo lost much funds from the European Union and the World Bank.

It's good that there's a stable government now, because last year when there was no government, it wasn't good because you lost a lot of money from the EU and the World Bank. You must have stable government. Now you have, let's hope they do a good job. We'll see... In my opinion, the priority is to work for the economy. This is the top priority... I don't know. I expect them to do a good job because that's what a government has to do. We in Holland will have new governments next week. What am I waiting for? I expect them to do a good job. But we will wait and see; they must merit trust through their actions. Let's hope that actions are good”, he says.

Kosovo's Specialised Chambers in The Hague on Monday will follow with the final pre-emptives of Jakup Krasniqi's defence team. Then the line is the trial panel and the Specialised Prosecutor's Office and the defender of the victims.

On Wednesday, they will address the court by 20 minutes and former KLA officials.

Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veselini, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi are facing charges brought by the Specialised Prosecutor's Office, which they have described as groundless. Even the defence has dismissed these charges and argued the KLA had no organised command structure.

The trial against them has begun on April 3, 2023, nearly three years after confirming the indictment since former KLA leaders are held at The Hague detention centre./Periscopi/