War crimes witnesses to the

Kosovo War The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...

(1998–99) have been victims to

threat A threat is a communication of intent to inflict harm or loss on another person. Intimidation is a tactic used between conflicting parties to make the other timid or psychologically insecure for coercion or control. The act of intimidation for co ...

violence Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or Power (social and p ...

, and

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

. Those who spoke out about the abuses of their side in the conflict were seen as traitors to their community, and therefore, only a few became witnesses in war crime trials. The international institutions

ICTY The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to try their perpetrators. The tribunal ...

, UNMIK and

EULEX The European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, known as EULEX Kosovo or simply as EULEX,About EULEX
accessed 15 Ja ...

, and national courts in Serbia and Kosovo, have all had problems in ensuring safety for testifying protected witnesses. According to observers, one of the main reasons that the Kosovo Relocated Specialist Judicial Institution will partly operate outside Kosovo is the past failures of the international institutions to protect witnesses. According to Carla Del Ponte, the former ICTY prosecutor, "the investigation of the

Kosovo Liberation Army The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA; , UÇK) was an ethnic Albanian separatist militia that sought the separation of Kosovo, the vast majority of which is inhabited by Albanians, from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and Serbia during the ...

fighters appeared to be the most frustrating of all the investigations done by the ICTY," and stated "witnesses were so afraid and intimidated that they even feared to talk about the KLA presence in some areas, not to mention actual crimes". She further stated that "I am convinced that UNMIK and even KFOR officers were afraid for their lives and the lives of their missions’ members. I think some of the ICTY judges were afraid that they would become a target for the Albanians" and believes that witness intimidation seriously affected the acquitting verdicts against KLA officials Fatmir Limaj and Ramush Haradinaj. Numerous witnesses did change their testimonies during trials, while others were killed or mysteriously disappeared. Avni Zogiani, leader of an anti-corruption nongovernmental organization in Kosovo, said "Intimidation and even killings of witnesses are nothing new or shocking in Kosovo". EULEX prosecutor

Charles Hardaway Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...

said that "Witness intimidation, not only in war crimes but in other cases too, is happening from people with high competencies in government who are powerful". According to Belgian author

Jelle Janssens Jelle is a Dutch male given name, rarely also given to women. The origin of the name lies in Friesland, although the name is quite commonly used throughout the Netherlands and Flanders. The name comes from the Dutch word "geld", more probable the ...

, it was reported that judges and prosecutors became terrified at the mention of high-ranking KLA officers or politicians in case files. Del Ponte asserts that there were serious abuses of witnesses in Kosovo local criminal proceedings, and also alleged that UNMIK leaked sensitive information about witnesses to defendants, which UNMIK denied but later admitted that it had stopped some investigations into high-level perpetrators due to political reasons. The Humanitarian Law Center concluded that a large number of acquittals were due to witnesses changing their stories, suspecting intimidation. A bomb was placed under the car of a witness in 2002, and in 2003, witness Tahir Zemaj was murdered in Peć after testifying against a senior KLA official, while Sadik Musaj and Ilir Selamaj, witnesses at the same trial, were also killed. Kujtin Berisha was run over in Montenegro, Bekim Mustafa and Auni Elezaj were shot dead. Kosovo policemen Sabaheta Tava and Isuk Hakljaja were found dead in a burnt car. Agim Zogaj, a former KLA commander turned witness, was found dead in 2011. He was a key witness in the case against Fatmir Limaj. A potential witness to the

Klečka killings The Klečka killings were the mass murder of 22 Kosovo Serb civilians, including children, allegedly by members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) over a period of several days in July 1998, during the Kosovo War. After the killings, it was all ...

feared for his safety and decided not to testify, following news of Zogaj's death. In 2016, former KLA local commander Bedri Curri was shot dead, and in 2017 his daughter was killed in a car crash, the two deaths linked in Kosovo media to Curri's planning to testify against KLA crimes. The ICTY Trial Chamber acknowledged during the Trial Judgement of Haradinaj et al. that:

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* * * * * * * * {{refend Kosovo War Kosovo Liberation Army War crimes in the Kosovo War Witness protection

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