EULEX Press Releases

EULEX Press Releases

Man sentenced to 7 years in Peja/Peć

29 April 2009

In the second war crimes trial held under the auspices of the EULEX Rule of Law Mission iat the Peja/Peć District Court, a man has been sentenced to 7 years in jail.

G.K.,35, a Kosovo Albanian and former member of the KLA, was found guilty of hostage-taking and unlawful property confiscation and pillaging of weapons in March 1999 in the Peja/Peć region. He was sentenced to seven years in prison.

The defendant was acquitted of the detention, deprivation of right to a fair and impartial trial, inhumane treatment and murder of a person.

The trial had a mixed panel of two EULEX judges and a local judge. The prosecutor was also from EULEX. The trial started on 11 March 2009. Eleven hearings were held.

The mission has executive power to investigate and prosecute war crime cases. EULEX has a War Crimes Investigation Unit in the Police Component and specialised war crimes prosecutors in the Kosovo Special Prosecutors Office.