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Special Prosecution Response

Prishtinë, December 01, 2019 – The Special Prosecution of the Republic of Kosova, response to the article published in the media on November 30, 2019, " Kurti, criticizes the Special Prosecution Office, demands trial for " peoples massacres ".

For the sake of fair and accurate information to the public, the Special Prosecution Office of the Republic of Kosovo informs that at the end of 2018, about 900 war crimes files have been inherited from the EULEX, as well as about 2000 files on missing persons. Upon taking the competencies over from the international mission, the Special Prosecution has initiated numerous investigations and issued international arrest warrants for the persons under investigation. Currently, at the stage of filing the indictment are the arrested and physically present persons in Kosovo, to whom the regular criminal procedure has been conducted.

The latest amendment to the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Kosova concerns the investigation and adjudication in the absence of persons who have committed war crimes. However, the trial in absence may be conducted after the criteria established by law have been met.

The first legal requirement is that the person under investigation is sought in the state(s) where he is supposed to be under the principle of the International Legal Cooperation at least five (5) times.

In order to comply with the first legal requirement it is needed that the person under the investigation to be summoned five times through the International Legal Cooperation. It means , for the person being investigated to be summoned , prior should provide the residence address, which is difficult to obtain in cases where the wanted person is in Serbia, as, as it is known, there is no agreement for international legal cooperation between Kosova and Serbia.

The second legal requirement is the use of any channel of International Police Cooperation and the failure to detain the person being investigated.

The third legal requirement determines that upon failure to achieve these aims the person being investigated to be declared wanted for investigation in criminal proceedings for at least six months in the media of the Republic of Kosovo, including the Official Gazette of the Republic of Kosovo.

From all this it is clear that the trial in the absence cannot be implemented automatically, but it is necessary to meet conditions which in practice can hardly be achieved as defined, in cases where the wanted person is in Serbia.

Also, it should also be considered that the Law on Amending the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Kosovo came into force with the President's decree on 21.06.2019, which means that in this six-month period it was not possible to meet the legal requirements for trial in the absence.

Therefore, the Special Prosecution Office of the Republic of Kosovo assures the public opinion that this prosecution is making maximum efforts towards detecting and investigating war crimes and creating conditions for bringing war criminals to justice. In carrying out this task, this prosecution applies the laws of the Republic of Kosova, as well as the high standards of humanitarian and international laws in the field of war crimes.





With respect,

Public Communication office at CHSP

Special Prosecution of the Republic of Kosova