"Ivanović will not be released during trial"

"Ivanović will not be released during trial"

When asked what "additional, acceptable guarantees should be offered," EULEX spokesman Miguel Carvalho de Faria said that "the Criminal Procedure Code of Kosovo does not envisage for guarantees of any governmental authority or political entity in criminal proceedings for any offense."

De Faria added that this stance "emphasizes the principle that there is no room for political interference of any kind in the judicial process."

"The application and interpretation of the Criminal Code of Kosovo is a matter of the court and only the court can to consider and make decisions on the basis of legal decisions in each case individually, as well as measures to ensure the presence of the accused in criminal proceedings, " the spokesperson said in a written reply sent to the newspaper.

He also pointed out that "courts will be independent in their work and make decisions in accordance with the law," and that the EU mission "respect the autonomy of prosecutors and judicial independence as a cornerstone of the justice system."

The indictment claims that Ivanović - a political leaders of Serbs in northern Kosovo - ordered the killing of four Albanians in Kosovska Mitrovica in 1999 and that he instigated the killing of ten more who died during rioting in 2000.

Ivanović has been held in court custody since late January.