Gashi calls on the EU to establish a Special Court in The Hague for crimes in Kosovo

Analyst Shkëlzen Gashi has raised concerns over the lack of convictions in Serbia in connection with crimes committed during the war in Kosovo.

He stresses that, out of 105 massacres committed in Kosovo during 1998–1999, final verdicts in Belgrade have been issued against members of the Serbian forces in only three cases: Tërnje, Suharekë and Podujevë.

Gashi has asked the European Union to consider establishing a Special Court in The Hague for crimes committed by Serbian-Yugoslav forces in Kosovo.

In his statement, he emphasizes that 105 massacres have resulted in only 3 convictions and asks where the Special Court for Serbia, headquartered in The Hague, is.

According to him, the Belgrade War Crimes Court has issued final convictions against members of the Serbian and Yugoslav police and military forces for only 3 of the 105 massacres committed in Kosovo in 1998–1999. These were the massacres in Tërnje, Suharekë and Podujevë.

In two other cases, the massacres in Lubeniq and Qyshk, the Belgrade Appeals Court overturned the verdicts, while both cases have continued to drag through the courts since 2014.

Thus, no one has been convicted in Belgrade for 100 of the 105 massacres committed in Kosovo. Gashi believes this demonstrates the failure of the Belgrade War Crimes Court.

He argues that the European Union should have acted against Serbia, the aggressor, and not only against Kosovo, the victim, by establishing a Special Court based in The Hague for crimes committed by Serbian-Yugoslav forces and the perpetrators of these massacres.

Gashi also seeks an answer as to why only Kosovo has a Special Court in The Hague, while Serbia, which committed 105 massacres in Kosovo and has convicted the perpetrators of only 3 of them, does not have such a court in The Hague.

The Belgrade War Crimes Court has handed down convictions for only 3 of the 105 massacres.

For the massacre in Tërnje, Rajko Kozlina was sentenced in 2019 to 15 years in prison.

In the case of the massacre of the Berisha family in Suharekë, Radojko Repanović was sentenced in 2009 to 20 years in prison. Slađan Čukarić, Miroslav Petković and Milorad Nišavić received 20, 15 and 13 years in prison, respectively.

For the massacre of the Bogujevci family in Podujevë, Saša Cvjetan was sentenced in 2004 to 20 years in prison. In 2010, Željko Đukić, Dragan Medić and Dragan Borojević were each sentenced to 20 years in prison, while Miodrag Šolaja received 15 years.