Kosovo’s Special Prosecution Office has opened a preliminary investigation into the attack on the Jashari family compound in Prekaz between 5-7 March 1998, perpetrated by Serbian police special forces.
Commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army Adem Jashari and 58 of his relatives including at least 28 women and children were massacred in the attack which is commemorated every year in the country.
Special Prosecutor Drita Hajdari confirmed to BIRN that they had launched an investigation last year and were in the stages of gathering evidence. She stated that she had checked whether a case had been opened by EULEX, UNMIK or the Hague war crimes tribunal, and when she realised there was none, she decided to start one.
Serbian Police, at the time a part of Yugoslavia claimed that Jashari and his accomplices were terrorists and that the attack was retaliation for his attack on police checkpoints. Jashari was convicted in absentia of terrorism by a Yugoslav court but is seen as a hero of Kosovo’s independence by Albanians.
Amnesty International found that “all evidence suggests that the attack was not intended to apprehend armed Albanians, but rather to eliminate the suspects and their families.”
To mark the anniversary of their deaths, Kosovo’s Parliament held a commemorative session in the Assembly and there were parades and speeches throughout Prishtina. Events will continue over the weekend including the “night of fires” where torches will be lit in Prekaz in memory of those killed.
