March 06, 2020 - 4:58 AM
TIRANA, Albania - Kosovo prosecutors on Friday issued war crimes charges against an ethnic Serb, accusing him of torturing, deporting and raping ethnic Albanians during the 1998-99 war.
A statement from the Special Prosecutor’s office said the man, identified as Z.V., was a member of the Serb paramilitary forces during the war. On May 22, 1999, in Vushtri, a town 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of the capital, Pristina, together with other Serb police, army and paramilitary forces, he allegedly deported and violated the civilian population and also raped women.
Kosovo authorities say that some 20,000 ethnic Albanian women were abused by Serbs during the war.
The statement does not make clear whether the suspect is in custody.
He faces from 15 years in jail to life imprisonment if convicted.
The 1998-99 war in Kosovo, then a province of Serbia, ended following a 78-day NATO bombing campaign against a bloody Serb crackdown on ethnic Albanian nationalists. More than 10,000 people died during the conflict, and 1,650 are still unaccounted-for.
Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence isn't recognized by Serbia.
News from © The Associated Press, 2020