Twenty-three organizations from the Albanian-American community have issued a joint statement regarding the ongoing trials at The Hague’s Special Court against former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). In their letter, they emphasize their community’s deep commitment to the ideals of freedom and justice.
However, they argue that when freedom is arbitrarily taken, and justice is manipulated as a political tool, it becomes a duty for citizens to resist and expose such injustices.
The letter highlights that no charges related to organ trafficking have been filed, despite the Special Court’s establishment following Dick Marty’s report, which alleged organ trafficking.
“It is now evident that these accusations were entirely fabricated for political purposes” the 23 Albanian-American organizations stated.
According to them, instead of adhering to its initial mandate, the Special Court has engaged in actions that undermine justice and peace.
“Four years ago, without an indictment, the president of Kosovo was detained while traveling to the White House to sign a historic peace agreement with Serbia. This arrest clearly aimed to sabotage U.S.-led efforts to secure peace in the region. Since then, nine other prominent Albanian officials, including the current and former parliamentary speakers, have been arrested—yet not a single Serb has been brought to justice by this court” the letter stressed.
The organizations also mentioned meetings between the Chief Judge and Chief Prosecutor of the Special Court with foreign diplomats, but not with officials from the Republic of Kosovo, even though the court was established by Kosovo’s Parliament.
“This institution does not even recognize the flag of the country that created it. Such actions undermine Kosovo’s sovereignty and hard-earned independence, recognized by the International Court of Justice and over 100 countries worldwide” the letter stated.
In their closing remarks, the 23 organizations called on President Vjosa Osmani and Prime Minister Albin Kurti to leverage their influence to draw international attention to what is happening at The Hague. They also urged Prime Minister Kurti to lift the funding restrictions imposed on the detainees at The Hague to ensure fair legal defense.
They requested the Kosovo Assembly to hold an immediate hearing on the matter.
“The judges and prosecutors of the Specialist Chambers should be summoned to testify regarding the mono-ethnic character of the court and its repeated violations of due process” the letter emphasized.
Finally, the organizations appealed to the U.S. government to thoroughly investigate the process and take necessary steps to restore justice and accountability in The Hague.
“To the Government of the United States: We urge you to fully investigate this matter and take all necessary steps to restore justice, fairness, and accountability to this biased process” the letter concluded.
