Kimberly West, a former American prosecutor, will be the new lead prosecutor of The Hague’s Specialist Chambers, which deals with war crimes in Kosovo.
According to the Voice of America, West would succeed previous Chief Prosecutor Jack Smith, who was named Special Prosecutor for investigations into former US President Donald Trump in November 2022.
Kimberly West has worked as a prosecutor in the United States for over two decades, and from 2008 to 2013, she was a member of the team prosecuting former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic for his role in the Srebrenica genocide at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. She was also a member of the prosecution team in charge of crimes committed by Croatian forces in Mostar, Bosnia.
Sali Mustafa, a former member of the Kosovo Liberation Army, was sentenced to 26 years in prison in December of last year for murder and torture in a detention center during the Kosovo war.
The trial of former Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi and three other high-ranking political figures, Jakup Krasniqi, Kadri Veseli, and Rexhep Selimi, all former senior leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army, began in early April. They face war crimes charges, including crimes against humanity. They are accused of torture, murder, and forced disappearances, as well as persecution, imprisonment, and other heinous activities.