The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, criticized the ruling of the war crimes court regarding four former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). This court in The Hague on Wednesday convicted four former KLA leaders of war crimes during the Kosovo War from 1998 to 1999.
Court Ruling and Details
In this war, the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Serbia on one side and the KLA on the other were involved. The initial court ruling included 81 years of prison for Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi, and Jakup Krasniqi. Each of these individuals was convicted of the arbitrary detention of 385 people, mistreatment of 49 people, torture of 303 people, and murder of 96 people.
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Vučić's Criticism of the Ruling
In his press conference, Vučić pointed out that the court did not convict these four KLA leaders for crimes against humanity due to political considerations. He stated: "They did not want to question the credibility of the KLA and did not address the issues related to the formation of forces aimed at separating Kosovo from Serbia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia."
He also reacted to the criticisms of the ruling by the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, saying: "Imagine if we expressed such opinions about every accused or convicted person, how many resolutions and statements would be issued from various European and global parliaments against our nation and country?"
Vučić referred to the reactions of officials from various countries regarding the ruling and noted that in their statements, there was no mention of Serbian victims, and only Serbs were recognized as the accused.
Comments from the Serbian Lawyer
Aleksandar Olenik, a Serbian lawyer specializing in war crimes, assessed this ruling positively, stating: "War crimes in the territory of Kosovo controlled by the KLA are well known. Now we have sentences and individualization of criminal responsibilities."
Olenik explained that under Kosovo law, only the founders of the KLA are prosecuted, while other members of this organization accused of crimes will be tried by Kosovo's domestic judiciary.
He also referred to the protests yesterday in Kosovo, stating that the conditions for armed conflict do not exist, but the possibility of continuing the war in other ways remains.
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