Kosovo Specialist Chambers first trail judgment to be pronounced today

English

Gazeta Express

18/05/2022 9:49

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC) in The Hague has scheduled the pronouncement of the Trial Judgement in the case of former heads of the association of KLA Veterans Hysni Gucati and Nasim Haradinaj today (18 May) at 10:00hrs. The Court set up to prosecute and try alleged crimes committed by the KLA is expected to deliver its first verdict since its creation in 2015, Gazeta Express reports.

Former head of the Association of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) Veterans, Hysni Gucati, and his former deputy Nasim Haradinaj were arrested in Pristina, on 25 September 2020, and transferred to the KSC Detention Facilities on 25 and 26 September, respectively. They are accused of publication of publication of details from classified files that they said they had received from the Hague based court.

According to the indictment Gucati and Haradinaj revealed protected information from the court, including details that could identify witnesses, during three press conferences between 7 and 25 September, 2020. They are charged with two counts of obstructing officials and four other counts of “intimidation during criminal proceedings, retaliation and violating the secrecy of proceedings,” the court said in a statement. Back in 2020 the veterans association said it had received anonymous packages of the court’s confidential files including information about protected witnesses and upcoming indictments.

During the 31 trial days, the SPO called four witnesses and both Defence teams relied on the testimony of 10 witnesses and 18 written witness statements. The closing statements took place from 14 to 17 March 2022.

The KSC has accused of filed war crime charges several senior members of the KLA, including former president of Kosovo Hashim Thaci, and former speakers of the Assembly Kadri Veseli and Jakup Krasniqi as well as an MP Rexhep Selimi. /GazetaExpress/