The deputy chief prosecutor of the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ivan Matesic, talks about the experience of this country in the investigation of war crimes, where he says that after this period, statements were taken from witnesses, material documentation was collected and then numerous criminal charges were filed.
War crimes proceedings, as he shows, are also done at the cantonal levels. In all of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Matesic says that there are 45 prosecutors who deal with the investigation of crimes committed 30 years ago.
Almost every third indictment, Matesic says, is for sexual violence, where surviving women still continue to testify under conditions of anonymity.
As he talks about the witnesses, he says that many of them have died and some of them have even begun to forget. At this point, Matesic advises the Specialist Prosecutor's Office in Kosovo not to invite them to interview too many times.
He adds that Bosnia can help Kosovo in sharing the experience for the investigation of these crimes, while he considers that there are prosecutors of this department who work for 17 years only in the investigation of these cases.
Recently, the first trial session in absentia was held in Kosovo. Matesic comments on this process, which he thinks will have an effect on the establishment of justice.
In the last war in Kosovo, more than 13,000 civilians were killed and massacred, 20,000 women and men were sexually violated, and while more than 1,600 forcibly disappeared people are still missing.
