Jan 22, 2007

Macedonia: Crimes Against Albanians Go to Court


The first ever trial for crimes committed against Albanians in Macedonia begins in April at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in the Hague.

Below is an article published by B92 News:

The trial of Ljube Boskoski and Johan Tarculovski, charged with the crimes against ethnic Albanian civilians in Ljuboten village near Skopje, is scheduled to start on April 16, 2007.

Boskoski and Tarculovski are indicted for the attack on Ljuboten, a village near Skopje, on 12 August 2001. The village was attacked by the Macedonian special police unit.

As alleged in the indictment, seven Macedonian Albanians were killed, 14 houses were burned down and more than one hundred villagers were arrested in the attack.

Ljube Boskoski was the interior minister at the time. The charges against him are that he knew about the crimes, yet did nothing to prevent them or to punish the perpetrators.

Johan Tarculovski, his former bodyguard, is charged with commanding the Ljuboten attack.

The pre-trial conference in the Boskovski and Tarculovski case is scheduled for April 12, 2007 before the chamber presided by Judge Kevin Parker.