Payments begin for victims in “Cali” commander’s case

Victims in the case of Salih Mustafa, who was convicted of war crimes by the Specialist Chambers, have begun receiving the compensation determined by the court. However, the Kosovo Specialist Chambers are calling for the Kosovo government to establish a new mechanism to cover the reparations in full, while the Ministry of Justice has not taken a position on the matter.

Eight victims were involved in the proceedings against Salih Mustafa before the Kosovo Specialist Chambers.

In addition to ruling on Mustafa’s sentence, the trial panel also decided on financial compensation for the victims.

The total amount of compensation is 207,000 euros.

The Specialist Chambers have announced that the compensation ruling is now being implemented.

“The reparations order in the Salih Mustafa case is in the process of being implemented. The victims have received a percentage of the reparations ordered for them. The Single Judge assigned to implement the reparations order has also instructed the Registrar to explore other avenues for the full implementation of the reparations order, including Kosovo’s victims’ compensation program,” said Angela Griep, a spokesperson for the Kosovo Specialist Chambers.

However, fully implementing the ruling remains difficult.

Since Salih Mustafa does not have the financial means to pay the entire amount determined, the Specialist Chambers have for several years asked Kosovo’s institutions to assume responsibility for compensating the victims.

This request has been reiterated for at least two years.

“The Single Judge further requested the Government of Kosovo to establish a compensation mechanism to compensate victims of crimes under the jurisdiction of the Specialist Chambers. As a last resort, he pointed out that the Specialist Chambers may receive undesignated voluntary donations to contribute to the payment of reparations awarded to victims through a final reparations order issued by the Specialist Chambers. The Single Judge stressed that the possibility of exploring other avenues in no way releases Salih Mustafa from his obligation to compensate the victims, nor does it release Kosovo from fulfilling its obligations toward the victims and establishing a reparations mechanism,” Angela Griep added.

The television station asked the Ministry of Justice whether there was a willingness to establish such a mechanism, but the ministry did not respond.

Earlier, the Ministry of Justice had stated that compensating victims in proceedings conducted before the Specialist Court was not included in the current victims’ compensation fund.

In this context, it is being requested that all people with victim status, regardless of the institution where their cases were handled, receive equal treatment.

“It should not apply only to victims of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers who need to be compensated, but to all proceedings, including those tried in Kosovo and those previously adjudicated by UNMIK and EULEX. We should not favor any court. All victims must be treated equally,” said Amer Alija of the Humanitarian Law Fund.

Salih Mustafa is the first person convicted of war crimes by the Specialist Court.