EULEX Head: Witnesses pressured not to testify
Head of the EULEX Mission Bernd Borchardt stated that it is not true that EULEX is pressuring witnesses to testify in court, but that they are rather pressured not to testify.
(kosovocompromisestuff) Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Our mission is to break down the mentality of silence, to support people who have evidence to approach us, and to have as many offenders as possible sentenced, Borchardt said for Radio and Television of Kosovo on Monday evening.
The head of the EULEX Mission called on citizens to help justice and the fight against corruption and crime, and dismissed claims that EULEX is pursuing selective justice by arresting only prominent persons.
This is absolutely false. We are not arresting people for their popularity. The investigation is launched based on the arguments that one can be penalized, he said,
So far, EULEX has sentences seven Serbs and nine Albanians for war crimes, Borchardt said.
Borchardt said that the Special Prosecutor's Office is investigating 350 cases which involve EULEX prosecutors, adding that less then 30 percent are war crime cases while the rest are cases of organized crime and corruption.
