Three human rights organizations have called on Serbia to prosecute senior military and police commanders over crimes committed against Kosovo Albanians.

The Humanitarian Law Fund (HLC) in Serbia, the Humanitarian Law Fund Kosovo (HLF Kosovo) and the RECOM Reconciliation Network issued a joint statement following the first-instance verdict against four former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) leaders.

The organizations said the verdict confirmed facts that cannot be denied because of the dominant narrative in Kosovo about the KLA’s liberation war.

According to the organizations, the verdict documents detention sites, torture, killings and disappearances of Serbs, Roma and Kosovo Albanians. The victims included members of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), people with no political affiliation, as well as KLA members and supporters.

Meanwhile, the organizations stressed that labeling victims as “collaborators” cannot justify their abduction, torture or killing.

At the same time, they described Kosovo’s dissatisfaction with Serbia’s failure to prosecute senior Yugoslav Army and Serbian police officers for crimes against Kosovo Albanians as understandable.

The organizations called for accountability for those responsible for war crimes, regardless of their affiliation.

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