US lawyer named chief prosecutor at office linked to Kosovo war crimes court

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — American lawyer Kimberly West has been appointed as the chief prosecutor linked to a European Union-backed court prosecuting war crimes in Kosovo. West replaces Jack Smith, who stood down as head of the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office in November to become a U.S. Justice Department special counsel overseeing probes into former President Donald Trump. West said in a statement Friday that she is honored to have been chosen for the “important and challenging role.” West currently works for a Boston law firm. From 2008-2013 she was part of the team at the United Nations’ Yugoslav war crimes tribunal that prosecuted former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic for crimes including genocide during the Bosnian war. Karadzic is serving a life sentence.