After four weeks of fieldwork, assessment excavations and the exhumation of human remains have been completed at three locations confirmed as mass graves in Kalludër and Jabukë, in Zubin Potok.
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The Government Commission on Missing Persons announced that human remains belonging to six individuals were found at the third site. As a result, the number of people discovered at the three locations has risen to 23. They are suspected to be victims of enforced disappearance.
During the operation, assessment excavations, exhumations, forensic documentation and inspections of other areas of interest were carried out.
The teams from the Institute of Forensic Medicine and the Police Missing Persons Unit, which operates under the Directorate for the Investigation of War Crimes, as well as other police and security institution units, took part in the activity.
The operation was supported by the Government Commission on Missing Persons and the Government of Kosovo. It was carried out pursuant to an order from the competent court, following a request by the prosecutor handling the case at the War Crimes Department of the Special Prosecution of the Republic of Kosovo. EULEX forensic teams from the Institute of Forensic Medicine also took part in the fieldwork.
Following the completion of the excavations, the materials found will undergo forensic examinations and DNA analyses. These procedures are intended to establish the identities of the victims and enable further steps to be taken, including the official notification of their families.
Kushtrim Gara of the Government Commission on Missing Persons confirmed that work at the sites suspected of containing mass graves had been completed, while warning that identification through DNA analysis would take more time.
“This involved around four weeks of work, from the end of the month until now. The area has now been marked and is among the locations confirmed as mass graves. It can be said that the assessment of the sites and the exhumation of all the human remains have been completed, after which they were sent to the Institute of Forensic Medicine for further forensic examinations, including DNA analyses,” Gara said.
According to him, Kosovo’s institutions will address all matters within their jurisdiction as a priority and with professionalism. Gara explained that the genetic identification process could take time and that, once the DNA report is received, the relevant procedures would be followed. One of the first steps will be to notify the families, but this phase will require time.
The Government Commission on Missing Persons thanked the teams and institutions that took part in the process. It also expressed its gratitude to the families of missing persons and the “Voice of Parents” Families’ Association for their cooperation.
Lawyer Gazmend Halilaj stressed that the discovery of the remains does not mark the end of the institutional work, but opens a new phase of humanitarian, legal and criminal importance. According to him, every human remain, personal item, piece of clothing, trace or other material discovered in these areas may help identify the victims and reconstruct the circumstances of their deaths.
In a statement to the newspaper “Bota sot,” Halilaj said that after the excavations, the site must be fully documented, the remains must undergo professional examination, biological samples must be taken and the preservation of every piece of evidence must be guaranteed without compromising its integrity. He considers DNA analysis one of the most important elements of this phase.
According to the lawyer, comparing the genetic material from the human remains with samples from relatives can establish the victim’s identity with a very high degree of certainty. For families who have been waiting for years or decades, such a result is not merely a scientific and legal conclusion, but also a human right and an opportunity to put an end to uncertainty.
However, Halilaj emphasized that identifying the victim is not the same as finding the perpetrator. DNA can establish whose remains they are, while criminal responsibility requires a link between the victim, the crime scene, the manner of death and the people suspected of the crime.
He stressed that each piece of evidence must be accompanied by a clear chain of custody: the time it was found, the person who collected it, where it was stored, the expert who examined it and the methods used must all be known. Failure to comply with legal and professional standards could create serious challenges to the use of the evidence in criminal proceedings, even if it has significant factual weight. According to him, responsibility for guaranteeing this process lies with the institutions.
Halilaj added that the investigation must also establish the place and time of the killings, the circumstances in which they occurred, the people present, the structures operating in the area and any information that could link a specific individual to the crime.
The Prosecution and Police must ensure that evidence is collected and administered in accordance with the law, while forensic experts and other institutions must ensure the professional examination and preservation of the human and biological materials. Every link in the process is important, as this evidence could also be used many years later in a court proceeding.
If the evidence shows that the deaths resulted from a war crime, identifying the victims will be only the starting point for a broader investigation. In that case, not only the identities must be established, but also the place, time and circumstances of the killings, the people present, the structures operating in the area and the possible links between specific individuals and the criminal offense.
According to Halilaj, every excavation requires a twofold approach: families must be given answers about the fate of their relatives, while every piece of evidence must be used to clarify the circumstances of the crime and determine criminal responsibility.
He pointed out that a mass grave should not be viewed only as a place where human remains are found, but also as a potential crime scene. It may provide information about how the crime was committed, the circumstances of the deaths and, potentially, the perpetrators. The passage of many years does not diminish the value of the evidence, especially in cases of war crimes, where every new element may help complete the history of an event that remains unresolved for families.
The lawyer concluded that justice cannot be based on emotions or assumptions, but on evidence collected, administered and preserved professionally and lawfully. If the materials found are linked to specific people and concrete criminal acts, they may carry decisive weight in criminal proceedings and in determining responsibility. For families, identification represents a step toward the truth, while for justice it should serve as the beginning of a full investigation into the crime.
