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Presentation on ICTY extended due to high level of students’ interest

Klina/Klinë, 20 November 2014

A group of 51 students of the ‘Luigj Gurakuqi’ high school in Klina/Klinë, Kosovo met today with the ICTY representative Astrit Lleshi to discuss the work and achievements of the ICTY. Due to a high volume of questions at the end of the presentation, Asrit extended his visit in order to accommodate the student’s queries.

Astrit started the presentation by providing the students with a brief overview of the history of the ICTY, including how and why it was established, what its mandate is, and how many people have been indicted and convicted by the Tribunal. Following the overview, the students learned about various aspects of the cases specifically related to Kosovo, namely the cases against Slobodan Milošević, Šainović et al., and Haradinaj et al. Astrit also informed the students about the different ways the ICTY has contributed to the development of international criminal law. To illustrate the discussion and to underline some of the main points, the students watched excerpts of the testimony of three witnesses before the Tribunal.

After the presentation the students had numerous questions. Intrigued by the videos of witnesses testifying before the ICTY, students wanted to know the difference between the ‘victim-witness’, ‘fact-witness’ and ‘expert witness’. Astrit explained that the first group of witnesses are the people who were the victims of the war crimes; that second group are people who witnessed to a violent acts being committed. He further explained that expert witnesses are usually called by the court for their expertise, e.g. forensic or military experts.

At the close of the event, students were provided with ICTY information materials and encouraged to visit the Tribunal’s website and social media sites.