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The Special Court sentences "Commander Ujku" of the KLA to 18 years in prison

2024-07-16 20:25:13Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
The Special Court sentences "Commander Ujku" of the KLA to 18 years in
Peter Shala

The Special Court of Kosovo for war crimes based in The Hague, sentenced the former member of the Kosovo Liberation Army, Pjetër Shala, to 18 years in prison on charges of war crimes.

The court found Mr. Shala guilty of illegal imprisonment, torture and murder based on the charge filed on June 12, 2020, according to which "the crimes were committed approximately between May 17, 1999 and June 5, 1999, against persons who were detained in the metal factory in Kukës (Albania), allegedly used by the Kosovo Liberation Army".

The court said that Mr. Shala was involved in the imprisonment and torture of 18 people and in one murder.

Pjetër Shala, known during the war in Kosovo with the nickname "Commander Ujku", has denied the accusations.

The process against Mr. Shala began in February 2023 at the Special Court of Kosovo with headquarters in The Hague. He was arrested on March 16, 2021 in Belgium, on criminal charges; arbitrary detention, cruel treatment, torture and unlawful killings during the war period in Kosovo.

The decision was welcomed by the chief prosecutor of the Specialized Chambers, Kimberly West, who said in a statement that "today is also a day when we remember and humble ourselves before the victims of Mr. Shala's crimes, who were mostly Kosovo Albanians, and those families who have waited for a quarter of a century for the accused to be brought to justice".

This is the second sentence announced by the Special Court against former members of the Kosovo Liberation Army.

In December 2022, the Court found Sali Mustafa, a former commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army, guilty and sentenced him to 26 years in prison on charges of war crimes. Later the court decided to reduce the sentence to 22 years.

Currently in The Hague, the judicial process is continuing against the former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army, Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi, who were arrested in November 2020, while the trial began in April 2023.

The Special Court, known as the Specialized Chambers, was established in 2015 and operates under the laws of Kosovo, but with international personnel. The idea for its establishment followed the claims raised in the 2011 report drawn up by the envoy of the Council of Europe, Dick Martty, who raised suspicions about the involvement of former insurgents in the killing of Serbian civilians and Albanian political opponents.

The establishment of the special court as well as the raising of charges have been constantly accompanied by reactions and protests in Kosovo, where it is claimed that in this way reconciliation is being made with the atrocities committed by the Serbian forces during the war of 1998-1999, which ended with the intervention of NATO.


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