Justina Shiroka Pula previously served as energy minister and was the first woman to chair the Kosovo Academy of Sciences and Arts.
Kosovo’s parliament voted at the last minute to limit the powers of the country’s special war crimes court, narrowly avoiding another government crisis in the early hours of Wednesday. The amendment was passed minutes before the deadline for electing a new president – a condition that would otherwise have triggered Kosovo’s fourth snap election in less than two years.
Under the amendment, the court based in The Hague will have its powers drastically curtailed and will no longer be able to prosecute war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the war. Its jurisdiction will be limited to crimes committed in Kosovo immediately after the conflict, while prison sentences will be capped at 15 years.
The change in the law followed rulings issued last month by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, in which four prominent former commanders were found guilty. They include former President Hashim Thaci, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for crimes committed during the struggle for independence from Serbia in the 1990s. The verdicts sparked outrage in Kosovo, where former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army are widely regarded as heroes.
As part of a deal with the opposition, Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s government secured the required two-thirds majority to elect Justina Shiroka Pula as president. Pula, who previously served as energy minister, became the first woman to chair the Kosovo Academy of Sciences and Arts.
Despite the lengthy negotiations, the change to the law sparked celebrations among thousands of protesters, with fireworks lighting up the capital Pristina. | BGNES