The chief prosecutor at the new special court set up to try former Kosovo Liberation Army fighters for crimes during and after the war promised he would conduct his investigations fearlessly and independently.
David Schwendiman, the chief prosecutor at the new Hague-based special court set up to try former Kosovo Liberation Army fighters for crimes committed during and after the 1998-99 war said on Thursday that he will pursue the facts vigorously and not be influenced by outside pressures.
“I intend to do this job the way I have always done things in the past; fairly, vigorously, and without fear or favour,” US lawyer Schwendiman told the first press conference of the new Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office in The Hague.
Schwendiman also insisted that he is completely independent.
“I don’t take instruction from anyone,” he said.
He said that he would conduct his investigations “based solely on the facts that we have and will continue to collect, and our best reading of the law” and would not be swayed by political or diplomatic considerations.
There has been speculation that those under investigation could include some senior Kosovo Liberation Army figures who are now top politicians, but Schwendiman said he would not comment on indictments, potential suspects and specific charges.
He said that such speculation does not serve “any legitimate purpose”.
The new court will hear cases arising from an EU Special Investigative Task Force report which said that unnamed KLA officials would face indictments for a “campaign of persecution” against Serbs, Roma and Kosovo Albanians believed to be collaborators with the Belgrade regime.
The alleged crimes include killings, abductions, illegal detentions and sexual violence committed between January 1998 and the end of 2000.
‘Judicial activity’ at the new court is expected to begin in the first half of 2017, the press conference was told.
However, for the court to be become fully operational, it still needs final approval from parliament in The Netherlands.
Witness protection was one of the key subjects addressed at the press conference, in light of the challenges faced by prosecutors in KLA-related cases at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, when witness intimidation was cited as a major obstacle.
Schwendiman said he could not give any information about witnesses at the new court for their own safety.
“I will not discuss nor disclose information about our witnesses. Neither will I discuss our means and methods for protecting those who are vulnerable because of their role in our investigations,” he said.
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US Lawyer Appointed Kosovo Special Court Chief Prosecutor
US lawyer David Schwendiman has been appointed as the chief prosecutor of the new Hague-based Special Court which is expected to try former Kosovo Liberation Army fighters.
David Schwendiman, who until now served as the lead prosecutor of the EU Special Investigative Task Force (SITF), which probed alleged crimes by KLA fighters, was appointed on Monday as Specialist Prosecutor (Chief Prosecutor) of the new Kosovo Specialist Prosecutor’s Office (SPO).
His appointment marks the formal transition of the SITF into the SPO, and Schwendiman said it was another step towards getting the new institution up and running.
“The Specialist Prosecutor and the SPO will continue to carry on the investigation started by the SITF and we will continue our preparations for the next phase of our work,” he said in a statement.
“I look forward to meeting people in the region and meeting with the media when it is appropriate in the coming weeks and months,” he added.
This is not the first appointment in the Balkans for Schwendiman, who worked as an international prosecutor in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2006 to 2009, and headed the Bosnian prosecution’s special department for war crimes during the last two years he was in the country.
The new special court is to be set up in the Netherlands and some senior Kosovo Liberation Army figures are expected to be indicted for alleged crimes committed during and after the 1998-99 war with Serbian forces.
It will hear cases arising from the recent SITF report which said that unnamed KLA officials would face indictments for a “campaign of persecution” against Serbs, Roma and Kosovo Albanians believed to be collaborators with the Belgrade regime.
The alleged crimes include killings, abductions, illegal detentions and sexual violence.
The Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office, as the new Kosovo war crimes court will be called, are one step closer to being fully formed after the European Council approved a one-year budget for the chambers this June.
The EU Council set aside 29.1 million euros to support the specialist chambers and the specialist prosecutor office, lasting until June 14, 2017.
However, for the court to be fully functional, it still needs final approval from parliament in The Netherlands, where it will be based.
The Kosovo and Dutch governments signed an agreement in January on locating the chambers and prosecutor’s office in The Hague.
Before it can start work, however, Dutch MPs must ratify the decision and it is still not clear when the issue will come onto the Dutch parliament’s agenda.
The EU expects it to be approved by the end of 2016. The Dutch parliament has yet to clarify the timetable.
The court will try former Kosovo independence fighters of the Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA fighters for war crimes allegedly committed from 1998 to 2000.
Sources close to the court told Floripress that the first indictments could be expected at the end of 2016, or the beginning of 2017.
International judges and prosecutors will staff the court, although it will operate under Kosovo’s laws.
It will be based in the former Europol building in The Hague.
