"Priština wants special court to be established"

"Priština wants special court to be established"

PRIŠTINA -- Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga has proposed that the mandate of EULEX be extended and a special court for war crimes committed by the KLA to be established.

This is according to the Priština-based Albanian language daily Koha Ditore.

In a letter to EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy chief Catherine Ashton, Jahjaga "on behalf of Kosovo asked for EU's assistance in setting up the court," said the article.

According to this, she wrote that the court, "which will operate in Kosovo and abroad," would work according to its own statute and have its own rules of procedure including provisions limiting the granting of pardon, custody and imprisoned outside of Kosovo.

The court will, as stated in the letter, be made up of judges selected and managed by EULEX's international staff.

"The office of the president of Kosovo has confirmed that the letter was sent to the EU," said the newspaper.

It was reported last week that EU's representative in Kosovo Samuel Žbogar advised the authorities in Priština to approve the setting up of the court that would investigate the crimes allegedly committed by the now disbanded ethnic Albanian KLA, and thus avoid involvement of the United Nations in this matter.

Clint Williamson, head of EULEX's special investigation team, "has a large dossier on crimes committed by the former KLA and is expected to hand it over to the judges of a special court that will look into the findings of the former Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe rapporteur Dick Marty," the Priština-based Express daily has reported, quoting unnamed sources.

Tanjug quoted the article as saying...