Roland Bartetzko

Roland Bartetzko (born 1970) is a former German soldier that volunteered for the Bosnian Croat side (the Croatian Defence Council) in the Bosnian War (1992–95) and the ethnic Albanian (the Kosovo Liberation Army) in the Kosovo War (1998–99). In 2001, Bartetzko orchestrated a car bombing outside a Yugoslav government office in Pristina, killing one Serb civilian and injuring four others. He was arrested several days later after investigators discovered his fingerprint on the detonator. Bartetzko was subsequently charged with murder, attempted murder and terrorism. He was the first Westerner to be charged with murder in post-war Kosovo. The following year, he was convicted on all counts by an international court and sentenced to 23 years' imprisonment. His sentence was later commuted to 20 years' imprisonment.

Biography

Bartetzko was born in the town of Würselen, near Aachen, in 1970. He served as a staff sergeant (German: Oberfeldwebel) in the Bundeswehr until 1992. That year, he travelled to Bosnia and Herzegovina to fight in the Bosnian War and joined the Croatian Defence Council (HVO).[1] Bartetzko left the HVO in April 1994, citing the "very cruel scenes, which could be described as atrocities" he witnessed being committed by his fellow HVO fighters.[2] In the late 1990s, he joined the Kosovo Liberation Army, and fought in the Kosovo War.[1]

On 18 April 2001, a car bomb exploded near the Centre for Peace and Tolerance in Pristina, the headquarters of the Yugoslav passport office in Kosovo, killing one civilian and injuring four others, including a woman.[3] Yugoslav government official Aleksandar Petrović was later identified as the man killed in the bombing. The device used in the attack was filled with metal fragments.[4] According to UNMIK spokesman Andrea Angeli, it contained around 10 kilograms (22 lb) of explosive. "For the future of Kosovo it could not be a more tragic incident," UNMIK police spokesman Derek Chappell stated. "This is an attack against everything that people trying to build this country are working for."[3] The crime scene was quickly secured by UNMIK police and British KFOR military personnel. UNMIK and KFOR soon discovered the detonator that had been used in the attack; Bartetzko's fingerprint was found to be on it.[5] Bartetzko was arrested several days after the bombing.[4] He was charged with murder, attempted murder and terrorism.[6] He was the first Westerner to be charged with murder in post-war Kosovo. Bartetzko's trial commenced in February 2002; he pleaded not guilty.[4] The trial was held under heavy security, with United Nations police officers wearing ballistic vests and armed with automatic rifles.[6] The prosecution argued that the bombing was a "revenge attack" stemming from Bartetzko's "hatred of Serbs". On 10 May 2002, Bartetzko was convicted on all counts and sentenced to 23 years' imprisonment.[4]

Bartetzko was incarcerated at the Dubrava Prison in eastern Kosovo. He filed an appeal against the first-instance verdict, and on 12 November 2002, the Supreme Court of Kosovo reduced his sentence from 23 years to 20 years. In 2009, Bartetzko filed a request for interim measures with the Constitutional Court of Kosovo, alleging violations of his right to effective legal remedy, right to appeal, and human rights guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights. In August 2010, the motion was rejected by the Constitutional Court of Kosovo.[7]

Books
  • The Smell of War: Lessons from the Battlefield (Amazon Digital Services LLC - Kdp Print Us, 2018) ISBN 9789951562355.

References
  1. Arielli, Nir (2018). From Byron to Bin Laden. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 85. ISBN 978-0-67498-223-9.
  2. Arielli 2018, p. 188
  3. "Kosovo capital hit by bomb blast". BBC News. 18 April 2001. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  4. "German guilty of Pristina bomb attack". BBC News. 10 May 2002. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  5. Ip, Kwai Hong (2008). Arnold, Roberta (ed.). Law Enforcement Within the Framework of Peace Support Operations. Leiden, Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. p. 118. ISBN 978-9-0474-3138-1.
  6. Ball, Howard (2002). War Crimes and Justice: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. pp. 44–45. ISBN 978-1-5760-7899-0.
  7. Constitutional Court of Kosovo (16 August 2010). "Decision on the Request for Interim Measures" (PDF). Retrieved 16 June 2020. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
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