American professor Edward Joseph said in an interview that the decision of the Specialist Chambers is extremely concerning and, in his view, creates the impression that it has cast doubt on everything that happened in Kosovo during the 1990s, RKS News reports.
He said the judge should have taken into consideration the practices followed by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and been aware of the crimes committed by Serbian forces.
“It is regrettable. I was quite surprised by the length of these sentences,” Joseph said.
However, he considers it highly positive that the court did not find any of the defendants guilty of the charges of crimes against humanity.
“This is not simply a technical detail. Crimes against humanity are much more serious,” Joseph added.
He said that officials in Kosovo should reiterate this point.
