Kosovo War

In his second day of testimony at the trial of Salih Mustafa at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague, a protected witness codenamed 3593 spoke about the conditions in which he was held at a Kosovo Liberation Army detention centre, and said he deserves compensation.

A protected witness told the trial of Salih Mustafa at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague on Monday that he was detained in 1999 in the village of Zllash/Zlas, some 30 kilometres east of Kosovo's capital Pristina.

The Victims' Participation Office of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers said in its opening statement at the first trial held at the Hague-based court on Wednesday that the alleged victims of Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA fighters during the 1998-99 war have been intimidated into silence for decades.

Former Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA unit commander Salih Mustafa went on trial at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers on Wednesday, charged with involvement in murder, torture, cruel treatment and arbitrary detentions during the Kosovo war in April 1999.

"Today marks a milestone for this institution and our work," prosecutor Jack Smith said in his opening statement on Wednesday.

Borisav Jovic, one of last presidents of the presidency of socialist Yugoslavia prior to its break-up, a key ally of Slobodan Milosevic and a leading figure in his ruling Socialist Party, died on Monday as a consequence of contracting COVID-19.

Youth Initiative for Human Rights in Serbia and Kosovo on Monday called on the authorities in both countries to publish the details of a deal on revealing the contents of secret wartime archives that was reportedly made during negotiations in Brussels last week.

The Kosovo government has denied media reports that Afghan refugees who have not passed the initial vetting to be allowed into the US will be given refuge in the country, as more evacuees are expected to arrive in the coming weeks.

Pre-trial judge Nicolas Guillou has dismissed an attempt by former Kosovo president and wartime Kosovo Liberation Army political leader Hashim Thaci and two of his co-defendants, Kadri Veseli and Rexhep Selimi, to have the charges against them thrown out.

Witness Shefki Bujari, who was the head of the village Duhel/Dulje for many years, told Remzi Shala's retrial at Prizren Basic Court on Wednesday that several murders during the Kosovo war, particularly in his village, could have happened because of personal resentments or suspicions that the victims were collaborating with Serbian forces.

Due to their publication, officials of the Kosovo Liberation Army War Veterans' Association Hysni Gucati and Nasim Haradinaj were arrested and accused of undermining the work of the court.