Borchardt: 100 war crimes probes underway in Kosovo

Borchardt notes there are 300 cases pending with Kosovo and EULEX prosecutors within the Kosovo Special Prosecutor's Office, adding that they also initiated 51 new war crimes cases."There are 216 active cases on Missing Persons," Borchardt announced, underlining that EULEX prosecutors, like all other Kosovo prosecutors, do not pursue cases based on politics, but rather based on evidence."The judiciary of Kosovo (including EULEX) can conduct investigations against alleged perpetrators, but has only jurisdiction in Kosovo. We all follow Kosovo Law, and Kosovo Law says that nobody can be tried in absentia," Borchardt said.He also noted that the majority of Kosovo Albanian war crimes suspects committed crimes against fellow Kosovo Albanians and Serbs.The EULEX chief also spoke about the complexity of these cases, noting that many of these cases are now almost 15 years old, and take a very long time to prepare, and that "from initiating an investigation to a final adjudication can itself be a 5 year process."Witness testimony is also incredibly fragile. By their very nature, witnesses have seen traumatic events. This makes them especially vulnerable to intimidation, either directly through private contacts, or indirectly, through public statements," Borchardt noted.