Skip to content
UÇKHistory and Memory

24–26 March 1999 · 1999

The killing of Bajram Kelmendi and his two sons

On the night of 24–25 March 1999, the first night of NATO bombing, uniformed men entered the Prishtina home of human rights lawyer Bajram Kelmendi and took him and his sons Kastriot and Kushtrim away. Their bodies were found on 26 March.
Evidence status: Documented. Supported by contemporaneous documents, institutional reports or independent studies that corroborate one another.The 1998–1999 warCrimes

Editorial status: Awaiting verificationDrafted from the cited sources; not yet fully reviewed by the editors.

Key facts

Date
24–26 March 1999
Place
Prishtina
Coordinates
Municipality level (approximate)
Sources
3
Evidence status
Evidence status: Documented. Supported by contemporaneous documents, institutional reports or independent studies that corroborate one another.

Content warning

This material describes violence, death or loss. Read it when you are ready; you can close it at any time.

Sources

  1. [1]Fred Abrahams, Benjamin Ward. Under Orders: War Crimes in Kosovo. 2001-10-26. https://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/kosovo/. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  2. [2]OSBE — Zyra për Institucione Demokratike dhe të Drejta të Njeriut (ODIHR). Kosovo/Kosova: As Seen, As Told: An analysis of the human rights findings of the OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission, October 1998 to June 1999. 1999. https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/d/d/17772.pdf. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  3. [3]Tribunali Penal Ndërkombëtar për ish-Jugosllavinë (ICTY). Prosecutor v. Vlastimir Đorđević, Public Judgement with Confidential Annex. 2011-02-23. IT-05-87/1-T. https://www.icty.org/x/cases/djordjevic/tjug/en/110223_djordjevic_judgt_en.pdf. Accessed 2026-09-16. — paras 813–814

Last reviewed:

Report an inaccuracy