The Kosovo Special Prosecution Office filed an indictment on Tuesday against the defendant with the initials CK, of Serbian nationality, on suspicion of committing the criminal offense of war crimes against the civilian population.
Through a press release, the Prosecution said that investigations have proven that the defendant committed sexual violence against a victim of Albanian nationality during the war in Kosovo, 1998-1999.
The prosecution has proposed to the Basic Court in Pristina that the trial be held in absentia, as the defendant is inaccessible to the justice authorities.
The Special Prosecution Office filed a series of other indictments in absentia at the end of December, mainly for crimes committed during the war in Kosovo.
Trial in absentia, according to the justice system in Kosovo, can only take place on the condition that the prosecution and the court have exhausted all means to ensure the presence of the accused.
Ehat Miftaraj from the Kosovo Justice Institute told Radio Free Europe a week ago that Kosovo institutions will most likely, based on the laws in force, issue red arrest warrants from the International Police Organization (Interpol) for persons who have been convicted in absentia for war crimes.
On December 26 of last year, the Basic Court in Pristina sentenced Çedomir Aksiq to 15 years in prison, on charges of war crimes against the civilian population, committed from January to May 1999 in the territory of the municipality of Shtime, namely in the villages of Reçak, Malopolc and Petrovë.
This is the first war crimes verdict made in absentia, based on the amended Criminal Procedure Code of 2022.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has contacted the Ministry of Justice in the Government of Kosovo with the question of whether a red warrant for Aksiq was requested before the trial, and whether it will be issued now after the verdict, but has not received a response.
Kosovo is not a member of Interpol, therefore arrest warrants are issued through the mediation of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK)./ REL (A2 Televizion)
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