Judgment against 21 accused of expulsion of more than 800 thousand Albanians during 1999 fails

The hearing has failed because of lack of defence attorneys.

Lawyer Amer Alija said war crimes cases have waited long enough for treatment.

“Yes, we've seen today that this was the initial session in the case against Zlatko Mirsic and others, or otherwise called the case of deportation, which was the expulsion of the civilian population during the January-June period of HINA in the municipality of Pristina. Today's hearing has been postponed to say that the absence of any attorneys who have been assigned according to official duty, even though the same have certainly been appointed in advance by Oda Lawyers. Of course, the Court should take care of co-operation with the Lawyers' Oda to ensure the presence of lawyers who are assigned according to official duty and not to postpone hearings because war crimes cases have waited long enough, waited 27 years and victims of war crimes, certainly even witnesses die in time, and war crimes leaders” died, Alija said in a proposal to the media.

He said the large number of people charged is challenging.

But it is certainly challenging when there are large numbers of accused persons. In this case, 21 members of the Serbian forces, mainly with command responsibility, are charged, and of course lawyers who must be appointed to handle cases of professionalism, should provide effective protection, because one of the conditions or criteria in non-incomcise judgments should also ensure effective protection and should not be provided only formal protection. We have heard today that most lawyers are not even equipped with charges, and this certainly indicates that the steps should be taken, both by the Court and Oda, that these cases in absentia should be dealt with with professionally, seriously and not be postponed for technical causes”, Alija said, EO, broadcast. Periscope.

The Special Prosecutor charges the 21 accused that during January and June 1999, during the armed conflict and war in Kosovo, they had exercised effective authority and control over forces operating under their responsibility in the regions in which areas of responsibility were held according to the positions mentioned.

It says that the accused have been aware and had information, as well as based on operational reports, internal communications and the presence of themselves in the areas, have been in sufficient knowledge that actions were being carried out under their control involving the destruction of property, including the burning of civil infrastructure houses and facilities, persecution and arbitrary ban of persons on ethnic grounds, including armed attacks on villages and towns inhabited by Albanian civilian populations, with the intent of shifting with violence.

These actions, according to the indictment, resulted in the organisation of forced columns of Albanian civilians with the aim of deportation from Kosovo to the Republic of Albania and Macedonia, totaling 862 thousand and 979 expelled civilians.

The Actakuz says the accused has not taken the necessary and reasonable measures that were in their competence and responsibility to prevent these actions from being carried out, preventing authors or punishing or reporting as illegal acts.

According to the PSRK, these actions are sanctioned according to the customs of war and that the accused violated Article 3 of the four Geneva Conventions, articles 50, 51, 86, 87 of Protocol I and articles 13, 14, 17 of Protocol II. So for these 21 actions, those quoted above are charged with criminal acts “war crimes against the civilian population” by Article 142 of the Criminal Law of the Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia. /Periscope