OSCE Mission in Kosovo to present report on use of detention

PRISHTINE/PRISTINA, 12 March 2010 - The use of detention and the judges' justification for detention is the topic of a report to be presented at a news conference on Monday by the OSCE Mission in Kosovo.

The report evaluates the courts' compliance with international standards based on their rulings to impose, extend and apply detention. It examines the use of alternative measures.

The report notes that in a majority of cases, judges fail to properly justify decisions imposing detention, thus breaching legal standards. It also recommends how the practices can be improved.

The report supplements an earlier OSCE Mission in Kosovo report on "The Use of Detention in Criminal Proceedings in Kosovo: Comprehensive Review and Analysis of Residual Concerns (Part I) , which focused on the prosecution.

Keynote speakers at the news conference include: Ambassador Markku Laamanen, Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Fejzulla Hasani, Supreme Court President, Ismet Kabashi, the Chief Prosecutor, and Wolff-Michael Mors, Director of the OSCE Mission's Department for Human Rights and Communities.

Journalists are invited to the news conference at 11:00 on Monday, 15 March, in the OSCE Headquarters in Prishtine/Pristina.