Government in Pristina establishes working group to support leaders of so-called KLA convicted of war crimes

· Telegraf.rs
Photo: Shutterstock/Nada B

The government of the provisional institutions in Pristina has established a working group to coordinate legal, institutional and diplomatic support to the leaders of the so-called KLA ("Kosovo Liberation Army") who were convicted of war crimes by the first-instance verdict issued by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague.

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The working group will be headed by First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of provisional institutions Glauk Konjufca, reports Ekonomia Online.

Prime Minister of Provisional Institutions Albin Kurti stated that the government believes that the first-instance verdict against the leaders of the so-called KLA are "legally and morally unjust", and that a "national strategy" is needed in the appeals procedure, which he said is "greater than party differences and unites institutions around a common goal".

On September 16, the Specialist Chambers in The Hague found the former leaders of the so-called KLA Hashim Thaci and Jakup Krasniqi guilty of war crimes and sentenced each to 25 years in prison, while Kadri Veseli and Rexhep Selimi were sentenced to 18 and 13 years.

The panel for appeals decided to extend the deadline for filing appeals by the defense and the prosecution until November 27.

In Pristina, all political parties and the public, regardless of disagreements about other issues, regard the verdicts as "unjust" and are engaged in a systematic campaign to support those convicted of war crimes.

Immediately after the verdicts were announced, protests began that lasted until October 6, when the Assembly in Pristina adopted draft amendments to the Law on Specialist Chambers.

The proposal was submitted by the Democratic Party of Kosovo, and includes narrowing the jurisdiction of the Specialist Chambers, shortening of the maximum sentences that can be pronounced, serving prison time in Kosovo and Metohija and the possibility of pardon.

The European Union criticized the adopted changes, pointing out that they contradict international obligations that Pristina has towards the EU.

(Telegraf.rs/Tanjug)