BELGRADE – The leader of the Citizens’ Initiative “Freedom, Democracy, Justice” (GI SDP), indicted for war crimes against ethnic Albanians recently, will have to remain in remand custody until the end of his trial despite the Serbian government guarantees that he will be available to the judicial authorities at all times if released pending trial, Belgrade-based daily Politika reports in its Tuesday issue.
Ivanovic will first appear in court at a preliminary hearing on August 26, when he will enter his plea to the indictment filed against him by a prosecutor from the Kosovo Special Prosecution Office.
Asked how the Serbian government guarantees that could effect releasing Ivanovic pending trial should look like to be acceptable to the court, EULEX spokesperson Miguel Carvalho de Faria said that Kosovo’s Criminal Procedure Code does not provide for guaranties to be given in criminal proceedings for any criminal offense by any state body or political entity.
In a written reply, de Faria states that this stance emphasizes the principle of there being no room for political intervention of any kind in a judicial process.
The application and interpretation of Kosovo’s Criminal Code of is a matter of the court’s discretion and only the court can consider and make decisions based on legal regulations in each case individually and decide on measures to ensure the presence of the accused in criminal proceedings, de Faria said.
The courts will be independent in their work and make decisions in accordance with the law, and the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo respects the autonomy of prosecutors and judicial independence as the cornerstone of the justice system, he said.
Ivanovic has been in custody since January 27, and the Kosovo Special Prosecution Office issued an indictment against him and four other Serbs on August 11.
