Few Kosovo Corruption Verdicts Lead to Jail Terms - BIRN

Few corruption-related court cases in Kosovo end with a prison sentence, BIRN Kosovo and Internews Kosova's annual court monitoring report for 2017, presented on Tuesday, said.

Since the first such report, 12 years ago, the project has monitored over 10,000 court sessions, revealing important evidence of violations and failings within the judiciary in Kosovo.

Introducing the report, Labinot Leposhtica, from BIRN's legal office in Kosovo, noted that only 32 of 254 court verdicts on corruption in 2017 resulted in prison sentences.

In most cases, those found guilty received conditional prison sentences or fines, Leposhtica added.

The report outlined numerous instances of light sentences - and of seriously prolonged corruption-related court cases.

Leposhtica also drew attention to procedural violations by judges, prosecutors and lawyers, which were witnessed during the monitoring.

The report was presented at a panel discussion on Tuesday, when the panelists discussed the main findings - including that few corruption cases in Kosovo end in prison sentences.

Jeta Xharra, BIRN Kosovo director, said that the past 12 years of court monitoring had revealed both progress and cause for disappointment.

She mentioned one notorious case, of Xhabir Zharku, former mayor of Kacanik, who after being convicted in Kosovo simply left the country and did not serve his prison sentence.

"The person you refer to is Kosovo's shame, but such cases will not discourage us from supporting the judiciary. Such cases should not happen again," Kosovo's Minister of Justice, Abelard Tahiri, said, responding to Xharra's words.

Tahiri said he saw BIRN as a welcome partner in his own work in the justice system.

The head of the Kosovo...