On the twenty-sixth anniversary of the Dubrava Prison Massacre, survivors of the massacre, family members of the victims, and institutional leaders paid tribute at the memorial located within the prison grounds. Once again, calls were made for justice and for all those who orchestrated the massacre, where around 120 Albanian prisoners were killed and 300 others wounded, to be brought to justice, as reported by KosovaPress.
The acting Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, stated that the Dubrava massacre was a plan executed by the Serbian state.
Kurti said that uncovering the truth about the Dubrava massacre also means exposing those who committed and planned it.
“On May 19, 1999, the plan for the mass killing of Albanian prisoners began, where Serbian police forces, along with prison guards and some of the most criminal Serbian inmates, opened fire with weapons and threw grenades at Albanian prisoners over the course of five days. As a result, by May 24, 1999, out of the approximately 980 prisoners gathered in Dubrava Prison, one was disappeared—Ukshin Hoti. 117 prisoners were killed, and 300 others were wounded. Uncovering the Dubrava massacre is also the uncovering of its perpetrators, its planners, those who gave the orders, and those who executed them,” he said.
From Dubrava, Kurti called on the Special Prosecutor’s Office to start investigations and initiate legal proceedings against those responsible.
“I once again call on the Special Prosecutor’s Office of Kosovo to begin investigations into this massacre and initiate judicial processes. There is no more suitable place to make this call than here, where we stand strong and alive. War criminals of every rank and level of responsibility must be investigated and prosecuted. War crimes are never forgotten, they never expire, and they are never forgiven—not a single one of them, in any case,” Kurti stated.
The head of the Association of Former Political Prisoners, Shefik Sadiku, while remembering all the prisoners killed between May 19 and May 24, 1999, said that this massacre was part of a plan activated by Serbia after the NATO bombings began. According to him, the intention was to blame NATO for the crime.
“After NATO’s bombings began on March 24, 1999, the Serbian government activated the plan for the Dubrava Prison massacre to blame NATO. At the forefront of this propaganda was Aleksandar Vučić, who today continues to be embraced by Euro-American diplomacy,” Sadiku said.
Sadiku also called on the next government to introduce a law dedicated to the Dubrava massacre, which would allow former prisoners to testify free of charge and file individual lawsuits.
“We call on the soon-to-be-established government of Kosovo to pass a law regarding the 1999 Dubrava Prison massacre/genocide. This law should allow former prisoners to give their personal testimonies to the Prosecutor’s Office without charge, file personal lawsuits, and receive legal guidance concerning the Serbian state’s acts of genocide committed against them between May 19–24, 1999. Most of them are dying with this pain. Families of those killed should also be guided and supported in exercising their right to sue the Serbian state for the deaths of their loved ones,” he added.
Inside Dubrava Prison, a memorial plaque bears the names of all those killed in the massacre, which is considered one of the most horrific atrocities committed by the Serbian regime against Albanians.
