The Director for Europe of the independent human rights organization Human Rights Watch Lotte Leicht criticised Prime Minister Edi Rama for slandering the EU and US-backed Kosovo Specialist Court. She questioned why he is defending those accused of crimes and criticized him for calling the Special Court “an assault on the inviolable justice of the liberation war.”
Leicht added that Rama’s attempt to use the Kosovo court as a weapon against the Albanian opposition was “shameful and misguided.”
Critics also confuse, purposefully or out of misunderstanding, the difference between jus ad bellum (laws of aggression) and jus in bello (laws of war).
Whatever one thinks about the KLA’s right or reason to fight, the rules of how one fights apply to all sides. #Kosovo
7/10 pic.twitter.com/fFr1cLZWbU— Lotte Leicht (@LotteLeicht1) November 9, 2020
She then continued with a long thread during which she defended the trials taking place at the Kosovo Special Court this week, of former leading figures of the Kosovo Liberation Army. She expressed that”the truth will finally be understood and justice will be done”.
In her tweets, the Director noted that not all Serb crimes have been committed and that criminals from the war are still considered as heroes in Serbia.
Finally, Leich has expressed hope that the trials before the special court will serve to launch efforts for justice and the rule of law in the Western Balkans.
Lotte Leicht has previously supported the investigation against Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi. On June 24, she said that “the investigation is a step forward for justice as these crimes have remained over Kosovo for two decades”.
To read more about Rama’s allegations, click here.