31 Jul 14 The relatives of the three Bytyqi brothers, killed by Serbian forces after they fought for the Kosovo Liberation Army, urged the UN to pressurise Belgrade to prosecute their murderers. Marija Ristic BIRN Belgrade Lawyers for the relatives of Ylli, Agron and Mehmet Bytyqi, who were killed in Serbia in 1999, have filed a complaint to the UN, demanding “Serbia’s compliance with its international obligation to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the disappearance and murder of the brothers”. “This is a step towards obtaining justice for the Bytyqi family and raising inte

30 Jul 14 The European rights body welcomed an EU report accusing senior Kosovo Liberation Army figures of post-war crimes and saying there were compelling indications of organ-trafficking by fighters. Marija Ristic BIRN Belgrade The Council of Europe on Wednesday praised the EU Special Investigative Task Force report which said there was evidence to prosecute unnamed senior Kosovo Liberation Army officials for crimes against humanity including abductions and murders committed after the 1999 conflict. The head of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly, Anne Brasseur, also praised t

An EU report said top Kosovo Liberation Army officials will be prosecuted for crimes against humanity including murders and abductions but there was not enough evidence yet for organ-trafficking indictments. Edona Peci BIRN Pristina The report published on Tuesday by the EU’s Special Investigative Task Force said that unnamed “senior officials of the former Kosovo Liberation Army” will face indictments for crimes against humanity and other abuses committed after the 1999 conflict. “These individuals bear responsibility for a campaign of persecution that was directed against the ethnic Serb,

23 Jul 14 The new Netherlands-based special court will launch its first cases against former Kosovo Liberation Army fighters for the wartime killings, deportations and abductions of Serbs next year. Marija Ristic BIRN Belgrade “We expect the court to be fully functional at the beginning of next year… There will be several former Kosovo Liberation Army members on the trial bench,” a senior EU diplomat told BIRN. Indictments will be issued for the killings, abduction and deportation of Kosovo Serbs who were imprisoned in many KLA detention camps in Kosovo during the conflict in 1999 and late

23 Jul 14 A witness told the trial of the Kosovo Liberation Army’s ‘Drenica Group’ cell, accused of assaulting prisoners during the 1998-99 war, that her husband was beaten at a KLA jail. Behar Mustafa BIRN Mitrovica The protected prosecution witness identified only as ‘Witness K’ testified on Tuesday at the war crimes trial of the seven former Drenica Group fighters, who include Pristina’s ambassador to Tirana, that her husband was seized and assaulted by KLA members at a detention centre. Testifying via video link, Witness K said that when her husband came home after being held for a mont

23 Jul 14 A campaign in Kosovo urging the UN to investigate wartime rapes shows the failure of local institutions to do anything themselves, highlights prejudiced attitudes towards victims and cannot bring justice. Hana Marku, Lura Limani Pristina The collection of signatures for a petition to pressure the United Nations to investigate rapes that took place in Kosovo during the war has been going on in Pristina for two weeks now. If everything goes according to he organisers’ plan, the UN will send investigators to Kosovo in order to draft a report.

22 Jul 14 Pristina

21 Jul 14 Pristina

21 Jul 14 Local leaders in the Serb-run north of Kosovo are threatening a collective resignation from Pristina-led institutions unless arrested Serbs are freed ahead of their trials. BIRN, Tanjug

21 Jul 14 With the election of a new speaker now before the courts, the President has had to delay the nomination of a new Prime Minister-designate. Pristina