Kosovo President Hashim Thaci, accused by the Prosecutor’s office in the Hague for war crimes. Based in the Netherlands spectaculator on Kosovo says that Thaci with a number of his associates should be prosecuted for killing dozens of people, torture and kidnapping.
Become in 2016 Kosovo President Hashim Thaci in the past was not only the head of the government of Kosovo, but also one of the leaders of the separatist armed group “Kosovo liberation Army”.
in 2008, the former Prosecutor of the Hague Tribunal Carla del Ponte accused in his book of the Kosovo separatists of involvement in the trade in human organs.
And in 2011 the special Rapporteur of the PACE, in the past, the Swiss Prosecutor dick Marty accused the former members of “Kosovo liberation Army” in the murder, abduction, eviction, rape, destruction of churches, trade in drugs and human organs. Of involvement in these crimes and accused Hashim Thaci.
According to the report, which consisted in close relations with the mafia, the militants kept captive Serbs and some Kosovo Albanians to “inhuman and degrading” conditions in secret prisons in Northern Albania. In one of the local clinics, many of the captives were seized by the authorities for subsequent sale on the international black market.
In Pristina these allegations, of course, rejected.
But now to past accusations against the current President of the partially recognized Republic of Kosovo (Russia, recall, still considers the region part of Serbia) added new.
Office of the special Prosecutor for Kosovo has announced that it has sent to court the document which sets out the arguments of the prosecution on 10 points.
“the victims of the crimes in question were the hundreds of people whose identities are known, – reads the statement of the Prosecutor’s office. Were Kosovo Albanians, Serbs, Roma, other ethnic groups and political opponents”.
the Special court for Kosovo (Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor”s Office) in the Hague, was created a few years ago with the assistance of the European Union to investigate the events in the former Yugoslavia, in 1998-2000, in particular alleged crimes from the Kosovo separatists. This organ located in the Hague because of fears of witness intimidation in Kosovo, because there the former soldiers of the separatist armed forces special relationship, many Kosovars consider militants heroes that can hinder the work of the court. In Pristina, as you might guess, the creation of this court took the alarm.
And the main accused Hashim Thaci, in an interview with the Guardian in 2018 said: “We believe that the special court was unnecessary and unfair, but because of our relations with the EU and the U.S. we decided to support him.”
Pelagiusit the basis for accusations an investigation into the events in Kosovo was headed by a former U.S. special envoy for war crimes Clint Williamson.
Although the charges against Hashim Thaci and his nine accomplices from among the commanders of the separatist armed groups are preliminary, referring to the results of a long investigation, the office of the special Prosecutor claims that can fully prove the charges.
during the investigation, was questioned numerous witnesses. In July last year, underwent questioning as a suspect, the Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj. The judges were interested in his role in the war 1998-1999 (at the time he was a field commander of the separatists). According to him, he used his right to refuse to testify. The interrogation was the reason for the sudden resignation of Haradinaj – he explained that he was going to speak not as Prime Minister but as an ordinary citizen.
In a statement, prosecutors said that President Hashim Thaci and former speaker of the Kosovo Parliament, Kadri Veseli, tried to hinder the work of the Prosecutor’s office for Kosovo, hoping to avoid prosecution.
it came to what U.S. Secretary of state Mike Pompeo in March, sent a formal letter to Thaci in support of the court’s work in Kosovo and urging them not to attempt to interfere with its work. If you believe the leaks, the letter of the head of American diplomacy said that interference with the work of this body “would seriously undermine the credibility of Kosovo in the world.”
“by Taking such actions, Mr. Thaci and Mr. Veseli put their personal interests over the interests of the victims of their crimes, the rule of law and all the people of Kosovo” – according to prosecutors.
These statements were made in anticipation of the announced on Saturday talks with the Kosovo leader, President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic at the White house.
now, However, the visit of Hashim Thaci in Washington cancelled. The Kosovo side, in the end, will be the new Prime Minister of the partially recognized Republic Avdulla Hoti.
the summit of the Belgrade-Pristina in the White house was organized with the participation of mediation of the U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell playing the role of the special representative of the American administration for a peaceful settlement in the Balkans.
“I respect his decision not to participate in the discussions until then, until you have resolved the legal issues on these charges,” he tweeted Ambassador Grenell about the withdrawal of Hashim Thaci to go to Washington.
whatever it was, it seems, the negotiations on the Kosovo settlement, failing to start, has stalled.
