Several days before the meeting in Washington, indictment raised against Hashim Thaci

Foto: Profimedia/AFP

A spokesman for the Specialist Prosecution in The Hague, Christopher Bennett, announced today that this office has submitted a ten-count indictment to the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, charging Kosovo President Hashim Thaci, Democratic Party of Kosovo leader Kadri Veseli and others with a range of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, enforced disappearance of persons, persecution, and torture.

The indictment alleges that Thaci, Veseli and the other charged suspects are criminally responsible for nearly 100 murders.

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The crimes alleged in the indictment involve hundreds of known victims of Kosovo Albanian, Serb, Roma, and other ethnicities and include political opponents, Bennett announced.

"The indictment is only an accusation. It is the result of a lengthy investigation and reflects the prosecution's determination that it can prove all of the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. A Kosovo Specialist Chambers pre-trial judge is currently reviewing the indictment to decide on whether to confirm the charges," he pointed out.

The specialist prosecutor has deemed it necessary to issue this public notice of charges because of repeated efforts by Thaci and Veseli to obstruct and undermine the work of the Specialist Chambers, a statement said.

It added that Thaci and Veseli are believed to have carried out a secret campaign to overturn the law creating the court and otherwise obstruct the work of the court in an attempt to ensure that they do not face justice.

By taking these actions, Thaci and Veseli have put their personal interests ahead of the victims of their crimes, the rule of law, and all people of Kosovo, said the statement issued by the Specialist Prosecutor's Office in The Hague.

(Telegraf.rs)