> Serbian human rights activists accuse judges and lawyers of profiting from

> imprisoned Albanians.

>

> By Vlado Mares in Belgrade and Gordana Igric in London

>

> Kosovo Albanians allege they have to pay Serb judges and lawyers to buy the

> release of their relatives held in Serbian prisons since the Kosovo war.

>

> According to the International Crisis Group, many prisoners' families have

> been effectively ransomed by Serbian lawyers. Reports suggest that Albanians

> are paying lawyers between 10,000 and 50,000 German marks to free detained

> relativn April, Serbia's Justice

> Minister, Dragoljub Jankovic, told journalists that 1,071 people had been

> freed from 31 prisons, but around 960 Albanians were still being held.

>

> Many do not even know what charges they face. Under outside pressure,

> Serbia's courts earlier this year began to process dozens of cases,

> sentencing prisoners to lengthy jail terms - a move severely criticised by

> the international community. In May, 143 ethnic Albanians were convicted on

> terrorism charges, receiving prison sentences of between 7 to 13 years.

>

> But Albanian political analysts believe the Belgrade authorities have

> recently begun to change their approach, in an apparent effort to show

> themselves in a more tolerant light. They say prisoners charged with

> terrorism are being sentenced to the exact time they have already spent in

> jailentre, said

> recently that the release of Albanians was a result of background diplomatic

> pressure.

>

> She warned though that there were a number of lawyers and judges making

> large amounts out of the imprisoned Albanians.

>

> Albanian families are said to get in touch with local lawyers with good

> legal connections in Serbia. It's thought the local lawyer establishes a

> price to cover his fee, that of the lawyer in Serbia and a sum for the judge

> who is to order the release. The cost is said to vary according to the

> importance of the prisoner, the wealth of his family or the gravity of the

> act he is charged with.

>

> Albanians say such bribery existed long before the NATO intervention. They

> say judges, defendants, lawyers and clients all know exactly how the system

> works.

>

> Gordana Igric is IWPR's Balkans Editor and Vlado Mares is a regular IWPR

> contributor

>