Kosovo Liberation Army

It was June 13, 1999, and Uli Reinhardt, a photojournalist from the German news magazine Stern was due to meet his colleague Gabriel Gruener at 6pm in the southern Kosovo city of Prizren.

But Gruener would never arrive for the meeting, and could not be contacted by mobile phone because Kosovo's telecommunications system had been damaged in the war.

A pre-trial judge on Monday confirmed the indictment of Hysni Gucati and Nasim Haradinaj for "offences against the administration of justice, namely obstruction of official persons in performing official duties, intimidation of witnesses, retaliation and violation of secrecy of proceedings", the Kosovo Specialist Chambers said in a statement.

His was among the first 12 bodies found in the mass grave at the Peja/Pec cemetery by Hague Tribunal experts who were searching for evidence for their indictments of Serbia's military and political leaders for war crimes in Kosovo.

There are no road signs pointing to the mine, which is surrounded by forests and fields. Nor are there many houses on the way. But Kizevak is currently a hive of activity.

Albania's parliament voted on Thursday to set up an investigative committee to collect information on other investigations conducted by local and international bodies into alleged crimes committed by the Kosovo Liberation Army in Albania in the war in Kosovo two decades ago.

The parliament will then present a resolution based on the findings.

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers published on Monday a redacted decision by a pre-trial judge confirming an indictment against former President Hashim Thaci and three former fellow guerrilla commanders accusing them of crimes against humanity and war crimes during and after the 1998-99 Kosovo war.

"The voices of the victims are indispensable to justice."

These were the words of the president of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, Ekaterina Trendafilova, when she called on victims of crimes allegedly committed by four former Kosovo Liberation Army guerrillas who have since become senior politicians to participate in their war crimes case at the Hague-based court.

The Kosovo Specialist Prosecutor's Office on Monday urged the pre-trial judge in the case against Hashim Thaci and three other wartime Kosovo Liberation Army guerrillas, all of whom are now senior politicians, that the start of the trial should not be subjected to delays until 2022 as the defence has requested.

After more than 20 years spent in Kosovo's political arena, President Hashim Thaci on Thursday announced that he will no longer be involved in politics once his mandate ends in April next year.

Kosovo parliament speaker Vjosa Osmani has reacted with fury to claims that her family once worked for the Serbian police when the country was under Yugoslav rule, after President Hashim Thaci repeated the allegation on Tuesday.

"Tonight, the snake tried to bite the honour of my family," Osmani wrote on Facebook, referring to Thaci by his wartime nickname of "The Snake".