Trial in absentia postponed for 21 defendants accused of war crimes

The trial in absentia of 21 people accused of war crimes during the 1999 war in Kosovo failed to begin at the Basic Court in Prishtina. The case is linked to the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Albanian civilians, while the court has scheduled the next hearing for September 15 at 09:00.

Judge Medie Bytyqi explained that the hearing could not proceed because proper legal representation had not been secured for all of the accused and the indictments had not been delivered to the lawyers on time.

Although it had been planned for the trial in absentia of the 21 defendants accused of war crimes in Kosovo, linked to the expulsion of thousands of Albanian civilians, to begin at this hearing, the scheduled review did not take place.

Initially, special prosecutor Florije Salihu-Shamolli said that the conditions existed for the trial in absentia to proceed.

“Since all actions have been undertaken and the defendants have been unreachable for the prosecution, in this specific case all the criteria have been met for the court to begin the main hearings,” she said.

However, uncertainties and problems surrounding the lawyers appointed by the Bar Association to defend the accused led to the initial review hearing being postponed until after the summer holidays.

“In assessing that there are no conditions to proceed with the initial review, taking into account the fact that the lawyers have been unable to obtain the case files and the absence of the above-mentioned lawyers, the court decides to postpone the initial review and set another date,” said Judge Medie Bytyqi.

Amer Alija from the Humanitarian Law Center said that war crimes cases should not be delayed and that the Court, in cooperation with the Bar Association, must guarantee the presence of lawyers.

“The Court must take care, in cooperation with the Bar Association, to ensure the presence of lawyers appointed ex officio and that hearings are no longer postponed for this reason, because war crimes cases have waited long enough, they have waited 27 years, and with the passage of time the victims of war crimes certainly die, the witnesses die, and the perpetrators of war crimes also die,” he said.

The Special Prosecution had filed an indictment in absentia on August 15 of last year against 21 people, who are mainly former military and police officials of Serbia’s structures during the war in Kosovo.

According to the indictment, the accused are suspected of having had control and authority over military and police forces on the ground during the period January-June 1999, of having known about violent acts against Albanian civilians, and of not having taken measures to stop or prevent them. They are charged with the criminal offense of “War crimes against the civilian population.”