Hague Prosecutors to Issue Kosovo War Crimes Indictments Soon

Almost five years since Kosovo's parliament approved the establishment of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Prosecutor's Office, chief prosecutor Jack Smith has notified the president of the Specialist Chambers of his intention to initiate proceedings before the Hague-based 'special court', it was announced on Monday.

"The President has therefore assigned a Pre-Trial Judge in accordance with the Law and the Rules of Assignment of Specialist Chamber Judges from the Roster of International Judges to review indictments filed by the Specialist Prosecutor. The content of indictments remains confidential, unless and until confirmed by the Pre-Trial Judge," said a press release issued by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers.

Over the past year, more than 100 people, mostly former Kosovo Liberation Army members, have been summoned by the Specialist Prosecution for questioning as suspects or witnesses in relation to crimes allegedly committed between January 1, 1998 and December 31, 1999 in Kosovo.

Those questioned included former KLA guerrillas who have become high-profile politicians like Ramush Haradinaj, who resigned as Kosovo's prime minister after being summoned.

The Specialist Chambers will hear cases arising from an EU task force report which said that unnamed Kosovo Liberation Army officials could face indictments for a "campaign of persecution" against Serbs, Roma and Kosovo Albanians.

The alleged crimes include killings, abductions, illegal detentions and sexual violence.

The report was commissioned after the Council of Europe published an inquiry in 2011 which alleged that some senior Kosovo officials, including current President Hashim Thaci, were responsible for various human rights abuses.

Thaci strongly denied the...