Proceset gjyqësore në Kosovë për krime të luftës dhe vepra penale ...

The Simić caseOn 20 June 2000, Kosovo Prosecutor Jusuf Mejzini brought an indictment against SerbIgor Simić on charges of genocide, involving the murder on 15 June 1999 of marriedcouple Halit and Mevlyde Sylejmani whose bodies he burned. The first-instance proceedingsagainst Igor Simić and others started on 5 December 2000 before a mixed trialchamber of the Mitrovica/Mitrovicë District Court presided over by Judge ChristerKarphammer. After 22 main hearings, International Prosecutor Michael Hartman abandonedthe indictment on 9 April 2001. The court rendered a judgment of non-suit thesame day and the injured party continued with the prosecution of the case.On 17 April 2007, an international trial chamber of the Mitrovica/Mitrovicë DistrictCourt, presided over by International Judge Timothy Baland, held the first main hearingin the civil case. Because the defendant and his counsel failed to appear before the court,the trial was adjourned for an indefinite period of time.The Vučković caseProceedings against Miroslav Vučković were instituted before the Mitrovica/MitrovicëDistrict Court on 12 May 1999 on charges of grand larceny. After several extensionsof charges, the local prosecutor on 29 November 1999 brought an indictment againstVučković on charges of genocide. On 18 January 2001, at the end of the 21st courtsession, the competent trial chamber of the Mitrovica/Mitrovicë District Court foundVučković guilty of genocide and imposed on him a prison term of 14 years. On 31August 2001, the Supreme Court of Kosovo set the first-instance judgment aside andreferred the case back for retrial, recommending the Prosecutor’s Office to re-classifythe criminal offence as a war crime and participation in a joint criminal enterprise.43The retrial of Vučković under the amended indictment started in January 2002. On25 October 2002, after 44 days of trial, the Mitrovica/Mitrovicë District Court foundVučković guilty and sentenced him to 12 years in prison. In May 2004, the SupremeCourt of Kosovo quashed the sentence again and referred the case back for retrial.The third retrial before an international trial chamber of the Mitrovica/Mitrovicë DistrictCourt, presided over by International Judge Lolita Dumlao, started on 16 August 2007.There were a total of 19 main hearings before the end of the year. The court examinedthe defendant and 16 injured parties in their capacity of prosecution witnesses as wellas six defence witnesses. Evidence obtained from Serbian judicial authorities was presentedand the statements of three prosecution witnesses unable to appear due to old