Zivanovic: More countries may agree to accept convicts of the Specialist Court, but they don’t choose where they serve their sentences

Attorney Zoran Zivanovic told Kosovo Online that the agreement signed between Belgium and the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, based in The Hague, allowing individuals convicted by this court to serve their sentences in Belgium, reflects a lack of trust in the Kosovo authorities, as there is a belief that sentences served in Kosovo would not be effectively enforced.

“The court operating in The Hague is technically a Kosovo court, functioning under a special regime due to the lack of trust from the international community, which led to the decision that foreign judges and prosecutors should run it, as domestic judges were shown to be rather biased and not fulfilling their duties properly. The decision to allow sentences to be served in Belgium is also a reflection of this distrust, because it is believed that the Kosovo authorities would likely grant such privileges to convicts that they would practically feel at home rather than in prison,” Zivanovic explained.

He added that Belgium is not necessarily the only country that will accept convicts of the Specialist Court, and that other countries may do so as well, which is why it is now being stated that they “can serve their sentence in Belgium.”

Zivanovic further explained that in the case of the ICTY (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia), established by the United Nations, the Netherlands had a condition that the accused could be held in detention there only until a final verdict was reached, and after that, the Netherlands was not prepared to allow them to serve their sentence in the country.

“Then the United Nations, through its member states—mainly from Europe—persuaded certain countries to accept ICTY convicts into their prisons. A large number of countries agreed to this, including all the Scandinavian countries, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, Portugal, as well as the Czech Republic, Poland, and Estonia. Convicts serve their sentences in those countries. However, it's important to know that convicts cannot choose where they will serve their sentence. The court, through its registry, decides in agreement with the states, as some countries may refuse to accept certain individuals while accepting others, based on their own conditions,” said the attorney.

He mentioned that Ratko Mladic, who was convicted by the ICTY, remains in The Hague due to his severe health condition, and no country is willing to accept him into its prison system.

“There are also countries that refuse to accept a convict who has been sentenced to a penalty that doesn’t exist in their own legislation. Or they say: ‘We will accept him up to a certain point, according to our laws regarding early release. If you want him to be released earlier than what we allow, we’ll send him back to you, and you’ll have to find another place for him,’” Zivanovic noted.

As for prison conditions, he said, according to testimonies from convicts, the best conditions are generally found in Scandinavian prisons, particularly in Finland and Denmark.

“From what I know, the worst conditions are in Estonia and the United Kingdom. There have been many unpleasant incidents there, including even attempted murders,” Zivanovic stated.