Specialized chambers Kosova in The Hague on Wednesday (September 16) condemned the first instance Hashim Tachi, former president and prime minister of Kosovo and political leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), to a single prison sentence of 25 years.
Jakup Krasnići was also sentenced to a single sentence of 25 years in prison, Kadri Veselja to 18 years, and Redžep Seljimi to 13 years.
The time they have spent so far in custody is counted in the sentence for all of them.
On Wednesday, Aleksandar Vučić, (still) president of Serbia and SNS candidate for prime minister in the extraordinary parliamentary elections on October 25, spoke about the verdict. His address at 6:30 p.m. was broadcast by several television stations with a national frequency.
There is no verdict for crimes against humanity
First, he explained that this process was conducted before the so-called court. of Kosovo in The Hague, which are actually Specialized Chambers, in order to avoid the "real" War Crimes Tribunal, the one of the United Nations "which was formed against the Serbs".
He stated that the Trial Chamber did not establish the existence of systematic attacks on the civilian population, because "they did not want to undermine the credibility of the KLA".
And the "most important" part, the Chamber did not establish guilt for crimes against humanity on all 6 counts of the indictment.
And it did not establish responsibility for the "most brutal crimes against Serbs" after June 20, 1999 and organ trafficking. For the first, the court declared itself incompetent, and for the second, it determined that there was no evidence
But that's why the Court found that the KLA is "not" a criminal organization, Vučić said while showing gruesome photos of crimes committed against Serbs in Kosovo since the end of hostilities and the arrival of KFOR, and even before that.
All in all, a conclusion could be drawn from the words of the president of the state, that the verdict is actually unfair and political.
Jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo
"You have to know that this is not the Hague Tribunal, that there is another instance above the Appellate Chamber of this Kosovo Court in The Hague, and that is the Constitutional Court of the so-called Kosovo," Vučić explained the legal course ahead after the first-instance verdict.
And he can acquit these four or send everyone back to the first-instance proceedings.
That is why we should not be euphoric, but we must patiently wait for the final outcome, said Vučić.
"Convicted War Criminal"
Hate is all around us.
Everyone around us is against us, Vučić then said.
And that can be seen in the way they reacted to the first-instance verdict against these four.
"They" express sadness over the verdict for these criminals, they call it unjust, the President of Albania Edi Rama called it "shameful", but Aljbin Kurti therefore underlines that the fight for the truth is not over, because he knows that in the end the Constitutional Court will ask the so-called Kosovo.
Nik Đeljošaj, Vice President of the Government of Montenegro and Minister of Economic Development, said, Vučić said, that every Albanian carries the holy struggle of the KLA in his heart.
And just what did the Albanians in high state positions say in North Macedonia! One is that today's indictment is a "punishment for the people of Kosovo", and the other is that "the KLA had the courage to take responsibility and our hearts are with the liberators".
It could not have passed without Croatia either.
Croatia takes note of the first-instance verdict and does not want to prejudge the final outcome of the verdict, which certainly "does not change the historical context of the war in Kosovo", stated the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the President of the Republic announced to the citizens of Serbia and concluded:
"All of them are united in their hatred against the Serbs."
Just imagine if we said something like that about a convicted Serb, thought Vučić, and he almost didn't mention Ratko Mladić, what they would do to us.
And all of them can have their heroes, only the Serbs are not even allowed to write, for them we are "bloodsuckers and monsters".
"We must not allow them to change our past", was the determined president and was surprised by the silence and hypocrisy of the international community to such reactions in the region regarding convicted war criminals".
Real journalism costs money, and we will not be bought by tycoons and corporations. Support us with a one-time or monthly donation. The time for it is now!
