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Life in Kosovo considers irregularities in the judiciary

04 09 2008  This Thursday, the Life in Kosovo show looked at the conclusion of the trial against former members of the Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA, accused of the murder of four members of the Hajra family in 2001.

Hamez Hajra, a former police officer during the Milosevic regime, along with three members of his family were murdered.

As a consequence, 12 people were arrested, 10 of whom were former KLA members. All the charges against the accused were based on the testimony of key witness Blerim Kiqina.

He claimed to have made false statements under pressure from international investigators and following promises that he would be able to start a new life with his family in Britain.

The main issue in the debate was how the trial could be based on a single witness who was later convicted of giving a false statement.

The panellists in the debate were:

Abdyl Mushkolaj – Head of the Association of KLA War Veterans for western Kosovo ;
Robert Dean – Head of the Justice Department of the UN mission in Kosovo, UNMIK ;
Vahide Braha – Attorney of the accused in the Hajra case, and
Skender Halilaj – a former KLA soldier, who was indicted but then released.

An investigative report by Betim Musliu opened the debate, introducing the Hajra case and revealing many irregularities that occurred as the case developed.

Berim Kiqina’s father explained why his son had made false statements during the investigation stage and during police interrogation. He said his son came under heavy pressure from international police to testify against former fighters who were known as the Skender Halilaj group.

Halilaj himself was present at the debate, after spending six years in detention. At the beginning of the debate he said “justice only partially triumphed in the case.

For six years in prison I wondered who could have done this massacre, but I couldn’t find an answer.”

He added that “the person who committed this crime can be compared to the war crimes that Serbia committed in Kosovo during the war.”

Discussing the efficiency of the UNMIK justice department and focusing specifically on the Hajra family case, Halilaj’s lawyer, Vahide Braha said that “justice delayed is justice denied,” and argued that this is what had happened in this case.

“There were several heavy violations in this case, such as the disappearance of evidence, and pressure against witnesses to testify or, worst of all, to give false statements.

This makes us believe that we are dealing with a flawed justice system,” Braha added.

Avdyl Mushkolaj criticised UNMIK for forcing people to give false statements and for practising positive discrimination in favour of those who collaborated with the Milosevic regime.

“UNMIK was using these people to put former KLA soldiers in prison,” he said. “There were more KLA soldiers in Dubrava Prison than thieves and criminals.”

Robert Dean on the other hand said there was “no specific policy to deal with indicted persons who cooperate with the police during investigations, while pressure and torture are not acceptable.”

Braha replied by criticising the justice system. “Our judiciary is weak,” she said.

“And another issue remains the fact that most of the current judges served the former regime and sentenced people only because they would say something or write slogans.”

Asked whether in Kosovar society there is still a broad opinion that UNMIK is dealing only with crimes committed after the war, and not those before the war, Dean said “UNMIK is following a concept known as the ‘Statute of Limitations, by which individuals are not prosecuted for crimes committed before certain period of time.”

He added that “the more serious a crime the longer the statute of limitations is for that case.”

On how to deal with people who collaborated with the Milosevic regime, Dean argued that this is more a social issue than a legal one.

“However, collaborating with the regime doesn’t mean one has committed a crime,” he said, “because collaboration cannot be considered a crime. This is a social problem and only Kosovars can deal with it.”

Halilaj interrupted, accusing Kosovo’s judiciary of responsibility for the disappearance of evidence in the case against him.

Asked whether UNMIK’s judiciary was politically influenced, Dean said that “the judges and the prosecutors don’t have a political agenda but they have a professional agenda and follow facts that lead them to those who committed the crime, regardless of who they are.”

“In every justice system there is space for criticism, but UNMIK did a good job on setting standards that are accepted internationally,” Dean added.

Halilaj was sceptical about any positive change following the transition from UNMIK to EULEX. “It is not important who comes and who goes,” he said.

“It is important that whoever comes here needs to obey the law, not violate the law and not be accountable to anyone.”

The debate was followed by a field environmental report by Jeta Abazi showing how Kosovo’s longest river, the Drini, is being drained through illegal connections to water supply pipes.


Life in Kosovo is a co-production between Kosovo Public Television, RTK and the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN. It is broadcast every Thursday, starting at 20:20.