ISSN: 0022-1198
CODEN: JFSCA
Page Count: 5

Mobile Autopsy Teams in the Investigation of War Crimes in Kosovo 1999
Eriksson, A

Hougen, HP
Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Copenhagen,

Lynnerup, N
Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Copenhagen,

Knudsen, PJT
Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Southern Denmark,

Leth, P
Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Aarhus,

Sprogøe-Jakobsen, S
Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Southern Denmark,

(Received 10 October 2000; accepted 25 February 2001)

Abstract

On request of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the Danish-Swedish forensic teams worked in Kosovo during the summer and the fall of 1999. The teams worked mainly as “mobile teams” at sites with few graves. Only two larger sites were examined. Most of the bodies were buried separately. A few “multiple burial” graves were examined, but no mass graves were encountered. The main purpose of the autopsies was to establish the cause and manner of death. Identification was of less importance, but a majority of the bodies had been identified prior to the autopsy. A total of 308 bodies, mainly males, were examined. The age varied greatly with a mean age of 47 years. The most common cause of death was gun shot wounds and the most common manner of death was homicide.

Keywords:
forensic science, forensic pathology, exhumation, war crimes, Kosovo

Paper ID: JFS15161J
DOI: 10.1520/JFS15161J
ASTM International is a member of CrossRef.