Court: ZPS will need more than 6 years to present the evidence against the former leaders of the KLA

The judge in the case against the former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army has asked the Office of the Specialized Prosecutor and the defense teams to reduce the time set for the presentation of evidence and questions of witnesses, as the time for the start of the trial is approaching.

The trial against the former president of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi, the former leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, Kadri Veseli, the former member of the General Staff of the KLA, Rexhep Selimi and the former spokesperson of the KLA, Jakup Krasniqi, is set for April 3. They are accused by the Specialized Chambers in The Hague of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The accused are following the status conference via video link.

According to the judge, if they refer to the calculations presented by the Office of the Specialized Prosecutor, then it seems that it will take 6.5 years for the ZPS to present the evidence and interrogate the witnesses, and this, according to the judge, "is excessive".

Only for the first 12 witnesses, if the ZPS acts according to the calculations presented, the judge said that it will take until January next year to complete the interrogations.

The judge said that the ZPS presented 312 witnesses, which is 46 witnesses per year and it takes 6.5 years for them to complete the proceedings.

The Special Prosecutor's Office said it is working on reviewing the timeline, including removing some witnesses.

The defense of the former leaders of the KLA also said that it is being coordinated that if the prosecution witnesses refer to only one of the accused, the other defense teams will not question him.

Thaçi's defense team also said that the time estimates presented for defense witnesses may be reduced, as the time estimates presented are maximum estimates.

What are Thaçi, Veseli, Krasniqi and Selimi accused of?

Against the former president of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi, the former leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, Kadri Veseli, the former member of the General Staff of the KLA, Rexhep Selimi and the former spokesman of the KLA, Jakup Krasniqi, are accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Ish-eprorët e UÇK-së u arrestuan nëntorin e vitit 2020. Që nga ajo kohë ata gjenden në paraburgim në Hagë dhe janë deklaruar të pafajshëm për akuzat që rëndojnë mbi ta.

Ata dyshohen për veprat penale që kanë të bëjnë me krime lufte: ndalim të paligjshëm ose arbitrar, trajtim mizor, torturë dhe vrasje të paligjshme dhe krime kundër njerëzimit: burgosje, akte të tjera çnjerëzore, zhdukje me forcë të personave dhe përndjekje, të cilat, sipas Dhomave të Specializuara, janë kryer midis marsit të vitit 1998 dhe shtatorit 1999.

Krimet pretendohet se janë kryer në disa lokacione të Kosovës dhe në veri të Shqipërisë, përkatësisht në Kukës dhe Cahan.

The Specialized Chambers and the Specialized Prosecutor's Office – otherwise known as the Special Court – investigate alleged crimes committed by members of the Kosovo Liberation Army against ethnic minorities and political rivals from January 1998 to December 2000 .

These claims were first mentioned in a Council of Europe report, drawn up by the then Swiss senator, Dick Marty.

This report paved the way for the establishment of the Special Court through a decision of the Assembly of Kosovo in 2015./REL