US Ambassador: KSC disregarded recommendations in selection process of the new Chief State Prosecutor

English

Gazeta Express

07/04/2022 15:02

US Ambassador, Jeffrey Hovenier, has reacted after Kosovo Prosecutorial Council proposed Wednesday Blerim Isufaj as new Chief State Prosecutor.

Ambassador Hovenier said that international representatives, including members of the U.S. Embassy, were invited to attend the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council (KPC) April 6 proceedings to select the next Chief State Prosecutor. “Our presence as observers should not be regarded as endorsement of the process or proceedings,” he wrote on Twitter. Hovenier in his reaction said that the fact that KPC members disregarded legitimate appeals and the recommendations of the review panel falls short of that standard.

He stated that the United States did not have a preferred candidate nor did they judge the qualifications of individual candidates. At the end he said that the US Embassy is concerned that the manner in which the KPC conducted these proceedings has damaged the confidence of the Kosovan public and our confidence in the KPC as a public institution.”

“Ambassador Hovenier: “International representatives, including members of the U.S. Embassy, were invited to attend the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council (KPC) April 6 proceedings to select the next Chief State Prosecutor. Our presence as observers should not be regarded as endorsement of the process or proceedings. On several occasions the United States expressed expectations for the selection process of the next Chief State Prosecutor that we believe are shared by Kosovan citizens: that it be fair, objective, transparent, and merit-based. The fact that KPC members disregarded legitimate appeals and the recommendations of the review panel falls short of that standard.  The United States did not have a preferred candidate nor did we judge the qualifications of individual candidates. We are concerned that the manner in which the KPC conducted these proceedings has damaged the confidence of the Kosovan public and our confidence in the KPC as a public institution,” AMbassador Hovenier wrote on Twitter. /GazetaExpress/