Kosovo charges 35 ex-Serbian police over Prekaz massacre

Kosovo prosecutors brought charges Friday against 35 former Serbian police over the killing of around 60 people in Prekaz in March 1998, including many relatives of Kosovo Liberation Army commander Adem Jashari.

Chief special prosecutor Blerim Isufaj called it the first indictment related to the killing of civilians in the Jashari neighbourhood in Prekaz. He said it was now up to the court to evaluate the indictment and evidence.

Prosecutors said there was evidence that the accused held high command positions within Serbian police special units. Court hearings will be held in absentia because Kosovo authorities do not have access to the suspects.

Lead prosecutor Valdet Gashi identified Milorad Ulemek, also known as Legija, as the leader of the attack. Ulemek is serving two 40-year jail terms in Serbia for masterminding the murders of Serbian reformist prime minister Zoran Djindjic in 2003 and former president Ivan Stambolic in 2000.

The Prekaz killings came during a three-day siege of the Jashari family compound by Serbian special police and military forces. The dead included 20 of Jashari's close family members, other relatives and neighbours, and many women and children.

The massacre was a turning point in the 1998-1999 war between Kosovo's majority ethnic Albanian independence movement and Belgrade troops. The war claimed more than 13,000 lives and ended after a US-led NATO bombing campaign. Kosovo declared independence in 2008, but Serbia does not recognise it.