Can the law on the Specialist Chambers be changed and those convicted be pardoned? Former KLA commander answers

Kosovo’s new Assembly on Monday adopted a declaration on the first-instance judgment issued by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague against former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).

The text, which had earlier received the support of the Vetëvendosje Movement, the Democratic Party of Kosovo, the Democratic League of Kosovo, the Alliance and the Multietnic Parliamentary Group, was read to MPs by Assembly Speaker Albulena Haxhiu. The document was adopted with 99 votes in favor, none against and no abstentions.

At the same time, discussion has resumed in the Assembly on amendments to the law governing the Kosovo Specialist Chambers. The Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) submitted the initiative last week, following the judgment against Hashim Thaçi, Jakup Krasniqi, Kadri Veseli and Rexhep Selimi, who were sentenced to a combined 81 years in prison.

Under the PDK’s draft law, the jurisdiction of the Specialist Chambers would be limited to the criminal offenses mentioned in the 2011 report by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Among other things, the report addressed allegations of organ trafficking after the war in Kosovo.

The proposal also envisages changing the period covered by the Court’s jurisdiction: instead of January 1998 to December 2000, it would cover the period from July 1, 1999, to December 2000. Another provision sets 15 years in prison as the maximum sentence that could be imposed.

The PDK is also calling for sentences handed down by the Specialist Chambers to be served in Kosovo and for those convicted to be eligible for a presidential pardon.

The Alliance has backed the initiative, while Vetëvendosje has said it will analyze the draft law from a legal perspective before taking a position. The Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) has yet to announce its official stance.

Unlike the declaration on the Hague judgment, which was adopted with broad support, the proposed legal amendments are expected to spark renewed political and legal debate among the parties.

Naim Miftari, a former Kosovo Intelligence Service (SHIK) agent and former KLA commander, describes the Assembly’s declaration as worthless and a waste of time. He says the Court cannot be disbanded without an official request from the EU and the United States, while, in his view, a presidential pardon for those convicted cannot be granted even under the current law.

“The declaration is just a waste of time; it is more of a folkloric gesture. The PDK in particular, which is chiefly responsible for the existence of this court today, is trying to wash its hands like Pilate when he washed his hands after crucifying Jesus of Nazareth. The Court cannot be dismantled today without an official request from the European Union and the United States, while the aim of having the presidency grant amnesty later cannot be achieved even under the existing law. The days when Hashim Thaçi had the power of an emperor are gone: he was president, prime minister, speaker of parliament, minister of justice and even chief prosecutor… He pardoned and released criminals and their friends who had been convicted of murder, while when you had no enemy, you were convicted and persecuted without any legal or human rights,” Miftari told Bota sot.

Miftari also addressed claims that the Specialist Court is Serbian and Russian. He said that if those claims were true, those who voted to establish it should be declared traitors.

“Kosovo should appeal the court’s decision—that is what matters. The charge of crimes against humanity has been overturned; the others have caused less damage. But what matters is that the KLA did not commit crimes against humanity or war crimes. There are individuals, groups and clans that exploited the war and the KLA uniform to achieve their criminal aims…!

“The Specialist Court was established by Kosovo’s Parliament. Today I hear self-proclaimed patriots and multimillionaires enriched by corruption, along with some war profiteers, claiming that this court, with its Specialist Chambers in The Hague, is a Serbian and Russian court. But that is a lie, because if it were true, all 84 members of Kosovo’s Assembly should first be convicted as traitors, as Serbia’s and Russia’s extended arm. Only then would you have the right to call the KSC a Serbian-Russian court,” the former commander said.

According to him, no KLA fighter or commander is accused or convicted for fighting for the freedom of the people or for waging a clean war.

Miftari is calling on Kosovo to establish an independent investigative commission to examine the influence of intelligence services. He claims that the prosecutors and judges are American, European and Swiss, and that no one is convicted without evidence.

“The judges, all the prosecutors and judges are American, European and Swiss… No person, no individual, is convicted without facts, without evidence. No KLA fighter or commander is accused or convicted for having waged a clean war and fought for the freedom of our people.

“Kosovo, as a state, should set up an independent commission of inquiry to investigate and study the significant influence of the Serbian UDB-KOS intelligence service and the pro-Serbian intelligence service, the French DGSE. Key political KLA figures, including Hashim Thaçi himself, should explain where he was, who brought them and why they were brought to power after the war, given that during the war, whether by chance or not, almost all the main war commanders, KLA commanders and battle commanders were killed. Why was no commander from the Rogner Hotel killed, or why was no commander from the ‘Vendlindja Thërret’ Fund killed, when after the war they all became multimillionaires and politicians…?” Miftari concluded.