Trials in Absentia Result in Three Judgments, While Other Proceedings Await Their Start

Nearly three decades later, most people suspected of war crimes remain free. In an effort to change this situation, Kosovo has begun filing indictments even in the absence of the defendants.

The first concrete step came in December 2024, when Çedomir Aksiq was sentenced to 15 years in prison. This practice continued in July 2025 with the sentencing of Sllavisha Filitiq and the delivery of judgments against Ivica Rajkoviq and Dragan Deniq for crimes against civilians during the most recent war.

Although prosecutions are expanding in scope, procedural difficulties remain evident. Most recently, the initial hearings for 42 people charged with war crimes in Istog and in connection with the Reçak Massacre were postponed for technical reasons.

Experts warn that these proceedings must not be neglected. According to them, the passage of time is becoming the main obstacle to conducting trials, alongside other challenges.

Amer Alija of the Humanitarian Law Center Kosovo said that witness testimony constitutes the main evidence in war crimes cases. He stressed that, 26 years after the end of the war, hundreds or thousands of witnesses have died, particularly those who were already elderly at the time. According to him, the perpetrators who were older during the war are also dying.

At the same time, Serbia’s lack of cooperation and deliberate harboring of war criminals remain the main obstacles to enforcing decisions issued by Kosovo courts.

Lawyer Ardian Bajraktari said that one of the biggest problems with trials in absentia concerns the execution, or enforcement, of the decisions issued in such cases. Given that Kosovo’s northern neighbor continues to serve as a haven for these criminals, apprehending them and bringing them to justice so that the decisions can be enforced is, according to him, a challenge in itself.

The extradition of people accused of war crimes who are located on Serbian territory is rendered impossible by Serbia’s lack of bilateral cooperation.

Although the Serbian authorities obstruct the extradition of people suspected of war crimes, Kosovo’s justice institutions have achieved record results in international legal cooperation with other countries.

A total of 77 extraditions were carried out in 2025, including 56 to Kosovo and 21 from Kosovo. Meanwhile, during this year, the Ministry of Justice has set a new record for this period, carrying out a total of 59 extraditions: 45 to Kosovo and 14 to other countries.

Data from this year show that the accused are being sheltered within Serbian territory, while the Serbian authorities’ refusal to remove them makes their extradition to Kosovo impossible. Meanwhile, final decisions from Montenegrin courts are pending regarding the extradition of two Serbian nationals.

Despite Serbia’s blockade, Kosovo has built a strong international cooperation network. Over the years, it has extradited convicted individuals from countries including the United Kingdom, Germany, Albania, the United States and other European countries as part of its ongoing efforts to bring them to justice.