Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti stated that he has never expected justice from the Special Court, while announcing that the Government will review the PDK initiative to amend the Law on Specialized Chambers.
Speaking after the Government meeting, Kurti said that the initiative is undergoing the relevant procedures and that the legal opinion of the Ministry of Justice, as well as the financial assessment from the Ministry of Finance, is awaited. According to him, the response to the Parliament is expected within this week.
Commenting on the first instance decision against Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selim, Kurti reiterated his critical stance towards the Special Court.
"I have never expected justice. I have never changed this stance towards the court," Kurti declared, objecting to the characterization of a "joint criminal enterprise" and raising allegations of a lack of transparency and factual and historical inaccuracies in the verdict.
The PDK initiative envisages changes to the law on the Specialist Chambers, including limiting the maximum sentence to 15 years and transferring to the Kosovo judicial system cases that, according to the proposal, would be considered outside the revised jurisdiction of the Specialist Chambers.
On September 16, the Specialist Chambers sentenced Hashim Thaçi and Jakup Krasniqi to 25 years in prison each, Kadri Veseli to 18 years, and Rexhep Selimi to 13 years for several war crimes charges. The verdict is of first instance and all four former KLA leaders have announced their intention to appeal.
