[ad_1]
The monitors of the work of the Specialized Chambers of Kosovo have assessed that this institution is treating with professionalism the rights of the accused and other parties in the procedure.
However, Amer Alija, coordinator of the Humanitarian Law Center in Kosovo, said that the Specialized Chambers in the court hearings that have taken place so far, in particular in the case against the former superior of the Kosovo Liberation Army, Salih Mustafa, have been so edited that it was difficult for monitors to understand what was actually being said at the hearing.
Alija made these comments in a public debate organized by the Humanitarian Law Center, on Monday, January 31st.
“The hearings in the case of Salih Mustafa have been extremely edited. We know that these edits are made for the safety of witnesses, but out of 12 witnesses, ten of them have been edited or closed, where over 70 percent of the hearings have been highly edited and a secular monitor will find it difficult to understand what is happening within the sessions “, said Alija.
He was also critical regarding the preparatory stages for court proceedings, which according to him, the Specialized Chambers are taking a long time.
The head of the Information and Public Communication Unit within the Specialized Chambers of Kosovo, Angela Griep, said that the numerous edits, as well as the transition to private hearings, are done in order to protect witnesses.
“There are often very strong reasons why judges decide to hold closed sessions and why judges decide that documents should be edited and this reason, in most cases, happens to protect witnesses or other people who are in a form or other part of the procedure “, said Angela Griep.
Speaking about the work of the Specialized Chambers in this debate, lawyer Artan Qerkini said that the issue of closing the hearings has affected the public not being able to follow the course of trials.
“I understand that the protection of witnesses is also an issue that the court should be careful about, but on the other hand the principle of publicity is part of a fair and impartial trial and if we have the edits, plus the lack of publicity, then simply “The opinion is still lacking regarding the follow-up of the procedure”, said Qerkini.
Another criticism of the Specialized Chambers was the lack of translations of some court materials into Albanian and Serbian.
“As a remark I would single out the lack of publication of these documents in three languages. So, mainly the papers issued by the Specialized Chambers are published only in one language, but are not published in Albanian and Serbian “, stressed Alija.
As positive by the work monitors of this institution was assessed the fact that court proceedings or main hearings are held with high intensity and with a clear professionalism, where the rights of the parties in the procedure, according to them are being respected to the maximum.
Currently, two trials are taking place in the Specialized Chambers of Kosovo, one against the former KLA superior, Salih Mustafa, and the other against the leaders of the KLA War Veterans Organization, Hysni Gucati and Nasim Haradinaj.
The trial has not yet started against the former President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi, the former Chairman of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, Kadri Veseli, the former Speaker of the Assembly of Kosovo, Jakup Krasniqi and the former MP of the Vetëvendosje Movement, Rexhep Selimi.
The Specialized Chambers and the Office of the Specialized Prosecutor were established by a decision of the Assembly of Kosovo in August 2015 and their mission is to investigate the alleged crimes of former members of the Kosovo Liberation Army, committed against ethnic minorities and political rivals, by January 1998 to December 2000.
Allegations of these alleged crimes were first mentioned in a 2011 Council of Europe report authored by Swiss Senator Dick Marty.rel
top channel
[ad_2]
Source link
