A court in Belgrade has sentenced in absentia former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) member Gjelosh Krasniqi to 15 years in prison on charges of crimes committed during the war in Kosovo.
On February 26, Krasniqi was found guilty of killing three people and wounding a Serbian civilian in June 1999 in the village of Bellopojë near Peja.
The Humanitarian Law Center in Serbia stated that the indictment against Krasniqi is based mainly on witness statements and limited forensic and medical evidence, and that the court-appointed defense attorney had no contact with the accused.
This non-governmental organization said that cooperation with Kosovo’s judicial institutions is essential for the prosecution of crimes against Serbs in Kosovo.
“Especially considering that Krasniqi was convicted of crimes against civilians by the District Court of Peja in 2009,” the statement said.
It also mentioned that trials in absentia in war crimes cases related to Kosovo are becoming increasingly frequent and that “there is an impression that the motives for initiating such proceedings stem partly from legal retaliation and not exclusively from the desire to achieve justice for the victims.”
