The Department for War Crimes in the Special Prosecutor of Kosovo has filed 67 indictments for trial in absentia in 62 cases against 174 persons, of which 10 cases are being tried in absentia. Meanwhile, the Government of Kosovo has achieved tangible results in addressing the crimes committed during the war in Kosovo.

This is what the Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, said in a media conference, which together with the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Hajrulla Çeku revealed the work and commitment of the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo in transitional justice and the addressing of crimes committed during the war in Kosovo.

The Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, said that with the establishment of the Institute for Crimes Committed during the War in Kosovo, which was operationalized in November 2023, determination was shown not to allow oblivion and to ensure that the truth comes to light. .

Minister Haxhiu has emphasized that during her governing mandate, important steps have been taken to address responsibility related to war crimes, especially regarding the trial in absentia of Serbian criminals.

She emphasized that since Serbia does not hand over war criminals and terrorists, a trial in absentia was necessary.

According to her, the Special Prosecutor's Office has already filed 67 indictments in 62 cases against 174 persons.

The Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, said during this conference that Kosovo will never surrender in the face of denial, manipulation or attempts to dilute the truth.

She also emphasized that they were forced to start from scratch, since in the past there was no will to address war crimes.

The Chief Justice of Kosovo expressed her willingness and that of the executive to contribute to the drafting of the national strategy for addressing war crimes.

His work in documenting and addressing war crimes in Kosovo was also revealed by the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Hajrullah Çeku, who spoke about the "Adem Jashari" memorial complex project.

Next, minister Çeku emphasized that a report of the working group has now found that during the war, Serbia intentionally destroyed nearly 1800 monuments of Kosovo's cultural heritage, looted over 3700 artifacts, and destroyed 175 public libraries.

Çeku he also gave details about the creation of the genocide museum, which, as he said, documents more than 1 century of Serbia's crimes against the Albanian people.

He even announced that from next year the restoration and museologicalization of Pristina Prison is planned, while regarding the construction of the memorial for children killed during the war, he said that they are awaiting a report from the University of Pristina regarding the conduct of interviews with family members of these children. 

What about the memorial complex of the Recak massacre, the minister Çeku stated that they are preparing the design task, in order for that complex to go through a new process similar to that of the Prekazi memorial complex.

Minister of Culture, Youth, Sports, Hajrullah Çeku stressed that they make efforts to ensure a sufficient budget for the management of memorials in Kosovo.