Photo: Jerry Lampen via AP Photo140 victims will testify before the Specialized Chambers of Kosovo (SVK) in the proceedings for war crimes and crimes against humanity, which begins today in The Hague against the former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veselji, Jakup Krasnići and Redžep Seljimi.
Opening statements before the Specialized Chambers of Kosovo (SVK) in the proceedings for war crimes and crimes against humanity are scheduled for April 3, 4 and 5, and the Specialized Prosecutor's Office will have a maximum of five hours on the first day for presentation. The opening speech will then be read by the representative of the victims, who has 45 minutes at his disposal. After that, each of the four defense teams will have the opportunity to present their opening statements, and their presentation is scheduled for April 4. Evidence at the trial, including the prosecution's first witnesses, will begin on April 11.
The original indictment against the four defendants was confirmed on October 26, 2020, and was amended on September 3, 2021, April 29, 2022, and September 30, 2022, so that the final version of the indictment would be filed on February 27 of this year.
Each of the accused is charged on the basis of individual criminal responsibility in six counts for crimes against humanity: persecution, imprisonment, other inhumane acts, torture, murder and forced disappearance of people.
In addition, each of the accused is charged with four counts of war crimes, namely: illegal and arbitrary arrest and deprivation of liberty, cruel treatment, torture and murder.
The indictment states that these crimes were committed at the latest from March 1998 until the end of September 1999 in numerous places throughout Kosovo, as well as in Kukesh and Cahan, in northern Albania. According to the indictment, those crimes were committed by the Kosovo Liberation Army against hundreds of civilians and persons who did not participate in hostilities.
According to the indictment, Tači, Veselji, Seljimi and Krasnić are individually criminally responsible on the basis of different types of criminal responsibility for criminal acts committed in the context of the non-international armed conflict in Kosovo, which were part of a systematic attack on a wider scale against the civilian population, which was considered not to be supports the KLA.
Among the 140 witness-victims are persons who, as stated, proved that they suffered "physical, mental or material damage as a direct consequence of the criminal act" specified in the confirmed indictment and applied for participation in the proceedings before the Specialized Chambers of Kosovo. This applies both to those who suffered direct damage, and to those who were damaged indirectly, for example, due to a close relationship with the direct victim, that is, the person who, according to the indictment, was killed or injured.
A recording of the introductory presentations will be published on the SVK website, and recordings of public sessions will be published on the YouTube channel of the Specialized Chambers.
MN/FoNet
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