EULEX's first war crimes trial

Accused jailed for 17 years

04 March, 2009

In the first war crimes trial to be held under the auspices of the EULEX Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo,a man has been sentenced to 17 years in jail.

Gani Gashi, 59, a Kosovo Albanian from Komoran/Komorane was found guilty of murder, attempted murder and grievous bodily harm.

The case related back to an incident on 12 July 1998 at a checkpoint near Komoran/Komorane in central Kosovo. Four members of the Kosovo Albanian Obrija family were shot by Gashi. The victims included the
father, mother, son and grandchild. The father died while the other three members of the family were severely wounded.

The panel of three judges included two judges from EULEX and one judge from Kosovo. The prosecutor was also from EULEX.

“This trial shows that EULEX is serious about investigating and prosecuting war crimes cases whenever they took place, as long as we have enough evidence for a successful prosecution to proceed. We will do this regardless of the ethnicity of those involved in the crime,” said Theo Jacobs, the Chief EULEX Prosecutor.