War crimes verdicts improve Kosovo-Serbia relations, experts say

Future verdicts by the Belgrade High Court War Crimes Chamber could help improve relations between Serbia and Kosovo. [AFP]

War crimes verdicts improve Kosovo-Serbia relations, experts say

The Belgrade court decisions on war crimes committed in Kosovo will help improve the relationship between Albanians and Serbs, experts and citizens said.

Future verdicts by the Belgrade High Court War Crimes Chamber could help improve relations between Serbia and Kosovo. [AFP]

War crimes verdicts in Belgrade for crimes committed in Kosovo could trigger positive changes in Kosovo-Serbia relations, experts said, noting the recent verdict by the Belgrade High Court War Crimes Chamber, which convicted nine former members of the Sakali (Jackals) group.

On February 11th, the nine were found guilty of killing more than 120 ethnic Albanian civilians in the villages of Qyshk/Cuska, Zahac, Pavlan and Lubeniq/Ljubenic in west Kosovo in April and May 1999.

The nine "committed murders, rapes and robberies in an extremely brutal way, with the main goal to spread fear among Albanian civilians in order to force them to leave their homes and flee to Albania," Judge Snezana Nikolic Garotic said in her verdict.

The sentences for the nine men ranged from two to 20 years in prison. Defendant Toplica Miladinovic was sentenced to 20 years in jail, along with two others. Seven defendants were sentenced to between two and 15 years in jail, while two were cleared of all charges.

The father of Agim Ceku, the minister of the Kosovo Security Force, was among the victims.

"It is good news that Belgrade has gained the political power to prosecute war crimes cases that happened in Kosovo," Ceku told SETimes.

Dusan Janjic, director of the Belgrade-based Forum for Ethnic Relations, said that while cases like Sakali are a shock to the Serbian public, the...

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