The detention facility for Kosovo war crimes defendants is completed, following an agreement between the Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC) located in The Hague and the Dutch government.
In their annual report for 2019, the KSC notes that they reached an agreement with the Dutch Prison Service and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs in October on the set-up of the detention facility.
Toward the end of the year all pending details at the facility were finalized, allowing for operations to begin by early 2020.
Meanwhile, by the end of 2019, the selection of detention officers was also completed.
Anyone detained in KSC custody will be held in accordance with the highest international standards, best practices and applicable law.
The Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office were established five years ago, in August 2015, by the Kosovo Parliament to investigate potential crimes by former Kosovo Liberation Army members.
No charges have been filed in five years but dozens of people have been interviewed. Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and former Speaker of Parliament Kadri Veseli were indicted but charges against them have not been confirmed.
Kosovo Parliament approved €7 million to be allocated to the KSC in 2020, double the amount allocated last year. Meanwhile, €13 million more could be available if needed.
