Eurasia Press & News
BELGRADE, Serbia
The Hague war crimes tribunal (ICTY) is ready to co-operate with Serbian courts in handling war crimes trials, ICTY President Patrick Robinson said on Friday (July 17th) at the end of a two-day visit to Belgrade. He said the ICTY will seriously consider a proposal envisioning Serbian citizens convicted by The Hague to serve their sentences in Serbia. Robinson said the main obstacle to approving such a request is the fact that the tribunal’s statute does not allow for those convicted to serve their sentences in any of the former Yugoslav countries. He added, however, that this provision may be revised.
In other news, Belgrade submitted an official request to Italian authorities for the extradition of Muharem Gasi, an ethnic Albanian charged in Serbia with war crimes committed in Kosovo in 1999, Justice Minister Snezana Malovic said on Saturday. The minister said she expects Italy to hand over Gasi, so he can stand trial in Serbia. Gasi, a former member of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), allegedly took part in an attack on a house in Kosovo in which the owner of the house was killed, while other members of his family were injured.
