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| Kosovo leaders accused of war crimes by Hague court |
The spokesman of the Government of Kosovo, Përparim Kryeziu, told to Radio Free Europe that Kosovo can not serve as a guarantor for the conditional release of former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army, because the guarantee is not required even by the mother country.
Based on the legal provisions, the guarantee is not required either from the mother state (Kosovo) or from the Prime Minister of the mother state (Government of the Republic of Kosovo), from whom the accused comes and to which state the Special Court belongs. So, Kosovo can not serve as a guarantor, as is being reported", said Kryeziu through a written response.
According to the government spokesman's response,"Judge Kai Ambos, in his opinion divided by the decision to reject the parole application, explores the possibility that in the future 'third countries' could serve as potential guarantors for any accused. "But Kosovo is not a 'third state', because the Court is legally Kosovo."
Kryeziu said that "comparisons of the Special Court with international courts such as the Hague Tribunal are unstable, both in relation to the courts themselves - one local and the other international - as well as in relation to persons/institutions that have had the opportunity to provide guarantees."
The President of Croatia, Zoran Milanovic said that he cannot offer guarantees for his former counterpart, the former President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi.
"This is impossible, I can not give such a guarantee because this is not my competence," he said, answering questions from reporters during a visit to the Croatian city of Sisak.
Former President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi is being charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity by the Specialized Chambers and the Specialized Prosecutor's Office.
"Now someone in the Belgrade bazaar will probably take me for granted, but I am not an enemy of the Serbs, nor have I been, nor will I ever be. I just think this it's harmful. Thaci should have been accused or left alone because some people from Belgrade have passed easily (untouched)", said Milanovic. He is convinced that Thaçi is likely to get old age before the court, due to the "unproven" accusations in the report of the Council of Europe, regarding the allegation of organ trafficking.
"In this sense, I consider it harmful, but I have not offered any guarantees - no, and I can not do that. This is simply impossible.
"Even if I had said so, it is impossible for me to do this," Milanovic said. He added that Croatia would not do what Hungary has done, as an EU member - to grant asylum to former Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, who had fled to Hungary, in order to avoid two years in prison for corruption.
The Presidency also says that Kosovo can not be a guarantor.
The media advisor to the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, Bekim Kupina, said that Kosovo can not be a guarantor for the free protection of former KLA leaders. The issue of bail was mentioned in the dissenting opinion of one of the judges (Kai Ambos), but was not accepted as an option by the Appeals Panel of the Specialized Chambers. Moreover, in the dissenting opinion, Judge Kai Ambos clearly refers to the third state. The Republic of Kosovo, by no means, can be considered a third state, because the court operates under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Kosovo", Kupina said. Former candidate for MP from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Hysen Berisha, stated days ago that Croatia has offered guarantees for conditional release by the Special Court of KLA leaders. Radio Free Europe has tried to get a response from the Democratic Party of Kosovo, but they have not commented on this. What are former KLA leaders accused of?
In October 2020, the Special Court for the Investigation of Crimes Committed during the Kosovo War, had confirmed the indictment against Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi, and Jakup Krasniqi, on suspicion of committing war crimes in Kosovo in 1998 and 1999. All of them have been in custody in The Hague since November last year. According to the indictment, Thaçi, Veseli, Krasniqi, and Selimi are suspected of war crimes related to war crimes: illegal or arbitrary detention, cruel treatment, torture and unlawful murder, and crimes against humanity: imprisonment, other inhumane acts. The crimes were allegedly committed in several locations in Kosovo and in northern Albania, namely in Kukës and Cahan. The Specialized Chambers and the Specialized Prosecutor's Office - otherwise known as the Special Court - investigate alleged crimes committed by members of the Kosovo Liberation Army against ethnic minorities and political rivals from January 1998 to December 2000. These alleged crimes are mentioned in a 2011 Council of Europe report authored by Swiss Senator Dick Marty.