Special Prosecution file: Besarta Jashari recounts how news of Adem Jashari’s killing emerged

The Special Prosecution of Kosovo has filed an indictment against 35 Serbian nationals suspected of committing war crimes. The court case also includes the testimony of Besarta Jashari, one of the members of the Jashari family who survived the attack in Prekaz in March 1998.

According to her account, in the early hours of March 5, 1998, family members were awakened by the sound of gunfire and forced to take shelter in the basement of the house. The attack against them continued with heavy weapons, tanks and grenades.

Besarta Jashari testified that in the days that followed, the house was continuously bombarded. Several family members were wounded, while the area where they were hiding was damaged by bullets and grenade fragments entering through the windows.

She testified that the shelling did not stop on March 6, 1998, either. Regarding March 7, Besarta said she remembers the moment when Adem Jashari was killed. She learned the news from Kushtrim, who told them: “They must have killed dad.”