Serbian and Kosovo NGOs wrote to the Hague Mechanism

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - More than 30 Serbian and Kosovo NGOs today sent a letter to the President of the Mechanism for Criminal Courts in The Hague, Karmel Ađius, assessing that no convict for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide should be released prematurely unless they express regret for the victims.

A convict for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide should, the letter states, publicly address the victims' families with a statement of sincere regret and willingness to help uncover the perpetrators of specific crimes and discover mass graves, reports Radio Free Europe.

NGOs are reacting to the announcement of the possible early release of former Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Serbia, Vlastimir Đorđević, who was sentenced to 18 years in prison in The Hague for his role in the transfer of bodies of Albanians killed during the conflict in Kosovo.

In a statement, human rights NGOs express their expectation that Ađius will call on Đorđević to provide information about "remaining mass graves in Serbia where the bodies of murdered Albanians are buried" and data on the participants in the "agreement and perpetrators of the execution of the Bitići brothers.".

"To date, mass graves containing around 950 bodies of Kosovo Albanians have been discovered on the territory of Serbia. The fate of another 1,092 Kosovo Albanians who disappeared during the armed conflicts in Kosovo remains unresolved," the statement signed by 31 human rights NGOs reads.

The former Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Serbia will be eligible for release from prison on June 17.