Trial of eight men in Gnjilane, Kosovo

GNJILANE, 17 February 1999 - On 16 February 1999, in the District Court of Gnjilane, the trial of eight men charged with associating for the purpose of hostile activities and terrorism began. The trial was postponed at the request of the defence lawyers, who argued that they had not been able to prepare an effective defence because they had not been given the opportunity to confer with their clients in private.

The OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission (KVM) welcomes the decision to postpone the trial in compliance with international standards for the preparation of defence as prescribed in Article 14(3)(b) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and in the Basic Principles on the Role of lawyers.

The KVM will continue to monitor this trial as well as others and to report on violations of international standards for fair trials.