The Mayor of Skenderaj and former commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army, Sami Lushtaku, sent an open letter on Thursday to all those working in the judiciary, after he was found guilty for war crimes last week.  In his letter, Lushtaku writes that it was not easy to argue that they he didn’t kill a civilian. “When one does not know his family, and who he is, this means that he doesn’t exist,” Lushtaku writes.  “Therefore, as foreseen by the law, together with my lawyer we will file a complaint. In order for the justice to prevail we call on all media to be transparent as much as they can. We ask from media, NGOs, human rights organizations, to become witness of this trial. I am asking only the name of that handcuffed person that I have killed, and nothing more. Whoever knows his name let it says publicly.”

Lushtaku writes that seeing reactions after his conviction, he is determined to win this battle at the courtroom and not in the streets. He also admits that discipline of the KLA soldiers was not the strongest point, but they were motivated to face the Serbian army. “I support prosecution of all crimes, even the smallest ones. I have no doubts that we, who were fighting for liberation of our people, have to face justice. But, it is a serious mistake that we have to be investigated and tried for what we have done during the war,” he writes.

According to him, a decade of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) leading the government created strong negative views towards the Kosovo Liberation Army. “Moreover, ministers and deputy ministers contributed greatly against us. Their intensive lobbying in the Embassies and EULEX, against us, for a very long time, have made this happen.” Lushtaku further writes that he would continue to insist on justice, demanding to at least know his victim. At the end, Lushtaku made a public call for all the MPs and specifically PDK officials not to use his name and the Drenica Group case in order to vote or not to vote the special court. “For two years now I am dealing with my case. Those that are elected by the people should deal with the special court.”