In a press conference on Thursday, head of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK, and former Speaker of the Kosovo Assembly, Kadri Veseli, announced that he has been summoned for questioning by the Kosovo Specialist Prosecution Office, SPO, part of the Specialist Chambers in the Hague. 

The so-called ‘Special Court,’ backed by the European Union but operating as part of Kosovo’s justice system, has a mandate to address allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity on the territory of Kosovo between 1998 and 2000, and grew out of allegations made in an explosive report by Council of Europe rapporteur Dick Marty.

Veseli’s party, PDK, backed the formation of the Specialist Chambers in August 2015, with Veseli himself voting for the amendment to the Kosovo Constitution that paved the way for the establishment of the Hague-based court.

“As one of the leading figures of the Kosovo Liberation Army, I have received an invitation to be interviewed at the Specialist Chambers on December 4,” the former Speaker of the Kosovo Assembly announced, adding that he would appear for questioning. Veseli was a key figure in the KLA, and led the organization’s intelligence arm, the National Informative Service, SHIK, from April 1999 until June 2018. 

At the press conference, Veseli defended the fight of the KLA and criticized the work of the Specialist Chambers. “The epoch of the Kosovo Liberation Army is the brightest part of my life,” he said. “The just war of the people of Kosovo for freedom has been continually attacked.” He ended the press conference without allowing questions from journalists.

In December 2017, Veseli’s party was part of an attempt to revoke the Law on the Specialist Chambers that establishes the Court. During Veseli’s time as Speaker, two attempts were made to hold an extraordinary session to review the request made by 43 MPs, many of whom were from PDK, but failed due to a boycott of Assembly Presidency meetings by Vetevendosje, the Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, and Lista Srpska. 

Over 120 former members of KLA have been summoned for questioning by the Specialist Chambers, including the outgoing Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, who was invited for questioning by the Specialist Prosecution Office in July. The Court has been operational since June 2017, however, no indictments have yet been issued.