Kosovo war crime witness was killed last month

Gazeta Express

14/01/2020 18:13

A Kosovo forest guard who was shot dead last month near the Badvoc Lake, was a protected witness of the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office (SPO), established to investigate and prosecute alleged war crimes committed by the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).

Nazmi Rrustemi (63) who on 18 December 2019 was found dead near the artificial lake of Badovc, just outside capital Pristina, was a protected witness of the Hague-based international prosecutors, his family confirmed. His wife Elmaze Rrustemi told T7 broadcaster that her late husband was even interviewed three months before his enigmatic death last month in his capacity as a witness. His family members told the TV channel that Nazmi Rrustemi was once held as a prisoner by the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during Kosovo war in 1998-1999. Kosovo authorities have not solved the case. The Specialist Prosecutor’s Office has not commented whether Rrustemi was in the program of protected witnesses. His wife called on rule of law authorities to solve killing of her late husband.

Since January 2019 more than 200 people, most of them former members of the KLA have been questioned by international prosecutors either as witnesses or suspects but no indictment has been filed yet. The Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office which operate as part of Kosovo’s justice system but are staffed by internationals and based in the Netherlands, were established in 2015 and are tasked to investigate and try alleged crimes committed by the KLA. /GazetaExpress/