Eight years of trial. Thaci's message story delivered against Limaj

A list of phone messages that for the first time had come into the hands of President Hashim Thaci have been used for eight years in a row by the Prosecutor against Fatmir Limaj.

Messages, except that they were as unacceptable evidence because there was no court ruling confirming their release, have proved to be forged.

The author of the assembly of messages between Limaj's adviser and a businessman from Gjilan is not yet officially known, but the author of their distribution is known HINA he is President Hashim Thaci.

The 6-page document Thaci had given Fatmir Limaj into his hand, calling him to account for abuses at the Ministry of Transport. Thaci had not told where he received those messages.

Thaci's e-mail interrogation

The prosecution has not been able to take Thaci directly into questioning the quality of the witness, but through E-mail communication.

In 2012, then the prosecutor EULEX, Johannes Puecker, had written to President Thaci to ask where he received the messages.

The case attorney in this letter explained the entire course of this document.

The Special Prosecutor of the Republic of Kosovo (PSRK) is currently investigating Mr. Fatmir Limaj for alleged criminal behaviour regarding the granting of tenders for road construction at the 2008 Ministry of Transport HINA 2010”, the prosecutor wrote in the letter to Thaci.

He had told Thaci that Limaj was questioned on April 20, 2012. During the interrogation, Limaj had faced written text message contents (SMS) between Andrew Shala and businessman Florim Zuka.

These messages were found in Limaj's apartment during the raid on the Klecka case.

“These SMS orders included a correspondence from 2009 containing data for Andy Shala (MTPT Cabinet Chief) by making a bribe deal with that third side”, the prosecutor wrote.

When Limaj was asked why these SMS orders were found in his building, he had responded that these SMSs were forged by someone and that Prime Minister Hashim Thaci had possessed them from an unidentified source.

“Z. Limaj further stated that the prime minister handed him this written content of textual messages after he became acquainted with its contents and informing Mr. Limaj for this”, the prosecutor explained.

Seven Prosecutor's Questions for Hashim Thaci

Prosecutor Pickert had asked Thaci seven questions:

Have you ever accepted from someone the written content of messages with text (SMS) or other mail information from (SMS) belonging to a third party?

Have you ever been informed about SMS correspondences, which can improvise Mr. Fatmir Limaj in conducting criminal acts, including but not limited to corruptions between Andrew Shala and others

If such information is available according to your knowledge with SMS text, mentioned below point 2, has it ever been submitted?

Have you ever contacted Mr. Fatmir Limaj regarding alleged incriminating communications with SMS text and have you informed him that such communications with SMS exist?

Have you ever delivered a version on the letter of content that messages with SMS text to Fatmir Limaj or someone else, including not limited, who you know are accompanied and/or are friends with Fatmir Limaj?

Have you ever handed in an electronic version of text content to Fatmir Limaj or someone else, including not limited, who you know are accompanied and/or friends with Fatmir Limaj?

Have you been informed about manipulations during the surveillance activity that were legally ordered, or about any manipulum in this direction?

Thaci had refused to answer many of these questions. He had not responded as well if these messages had been delivered to Limaj personally.

“Referring to your request to offer good clarifications regarding certain issues that concern the case in question, let me clarify as follows”, Thaci wrote to the German prosecutor of EULEX.

I in my quality as prime minister of the Republic of Kosovo often happen to accept anonymous letters with different content in which they cited individuals, various cases that connect with government activities that lead, or even for other things”, Thaci wrote to the prosecutor.

There are times when a letter containing certain content is usually read by my staff. In most cases, such letters are dropped as worthless, but in case there is any letter containing any significance for any person or individual who works for the Kosovo government, then I conveyed that letter and content to the person who was classified”, Thaci had said, trying to reason on his act of giving these letters, Fatmir Limaj.

“Precisely, such an anonymous letter was also the letter you requested clarification through your official letter. All I can tell you about that letter is that I've forwarded it to the acting minister because the same letter has had content that connects with the ministry, which he directed to”, Thaci replied.

How did a document with forged evidence become subject to the investigation of judgment for more than eight years?

Was Limaj and his staff corrupt, or were evidence assembled against them with the intention of political elimination?

During the interrogation, Limaj had said the messages were manipulated. The current chairman of the Kosovo Initiative, which holds the position of deputy prime minister, had said the message file had been handed over to Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, but has not indicated the date when this happened.

I went to the prime minister's office. Someone offered this to Prime Minister”, Limaj had said before the prosecutor, unable to specify the date and time when the messages printed on the letter were given to Prime Minister Thaci.

The Prime Minister gave it to me, and he said, "Look at this." I looked at him and he was very serious about me. I was actually alarmed. I left the document there. I called my advisor Andrew Shala. I said: Explain what this is”, told Limaj, the prosecutor.

Shala, had said the messages were mounted. He had released a list of calls and phone messages in PTK for that period. Message communication dates don't match.

Limaj: SHIK put the case together

Limaj, against which the indictment is expected to be declared Friday, had accused the Kosovo Information Service and some EULEX members of being sent to prison and had opened the case of corruption in the MTP, as he had said “without having any facts”.

During an interview on the “Rubicon” KTV show in 2014, Limaj had said that SHIK and two French French people, one of them adviser to former EULEX chief, French Yves de Kermabon and former chief Kosovo Special Prosecutor Isabel Arnal, had also prepared this case to eliminate him as it did.

He had even mentioned that he was deliberately arrested only not to be part of the PDK Convention when Kadri Wessel became deputy chairman of this party.

Limaj, had accused Kosovo Parliament Speaker Kadri Veselin of political elimination via SHIK. With eliminations he had said that Wessel has also come to the making of the Assembly, becoming the second man in Kosovo in the institutional hierarchy only a year and a half after entering politics.

This is also helped by Mr. Thaci and now Mr. Thaci himself has to contend that he has neither Jakup nor Fatmir, these others have little trouble leaving their own”, Limaj said.

The former Transport Minister charged with several criminal acts, including organised crime and bribery, had said that by opening this investigation has been politically eliminated. He had said that in this ministry there are people directly linked to some internationals who have opened the investigation.

There are two of the French that have been connected to SHIK. I expect that investigators if they want to investigate what is happening in EULEX, I am willing to give my statement about what happened with some elements that have been very closely co-operating with Kosovo people to eliminate and link people”, he had said.

“Yes, at Mr. Kermabo, his adviser in collaboration with SHIK..., a prosecutor Isabel Arnal, also French, chief prosecutor of the Special Prosecutor who has been in charge of doing what she did at the Ministry of Transport at the time. Never in any option would it have happened at the MPTP, it would not have been that situation in the PDK that is. Someone's been inside. The PDK or SHIK has been accusing”, he had continued on charges.

Limaj had accused Kadri Veselini of assembly of phone messages between his adviser, Andrew Shala and businessman from Gjilan, Florim Zuka. Those messages refer to bribery rates of up to 25 percent.

Kadri Wessel family groom charged by Limaj with assembly of messages

Limaj, had said that these messages were mounted by a relative of Kadri Wessel who did not mention his name to him on this show. But in the past they accused former police officer Fitim Rexha the son of prosecutor Ali Rexha, who is married to Kadri Wessel's brother's daughter. Ali Rexha's victory had denied those charges and filed suit in court for slander.

The one who has processed those assembled SMSs is the close man of Kadri Veselin”, former Minister Limaj had said. He added that there were prosecutors willing to take people.

“Did you know that the entire Transport Ministry was raided without any evidence, no letter”, he said.

The content of this communication that has already been proved false was criminal.

They talked about percentages of tenders amounting to 25 percent in exchange for tenders for the company “Talli” of Florim Zuka. Messages were written to be exchanged between former adviser to Fatmir Limaj and company owner “Talli” Florim Zuka in January 2009, several months before the MTPT raid.

The prosecution already said otherwise. He claimed the messages were original but were erased in the mail. It based this on the fact that in Fatmir Limaj's house, the original document had been confiscated into a USB memory, as well as another document printed with changes.

The bribe offered money in the amount of 250,000,000 by four zeroes were 20% of the total, previously demanded by Mehmet Shkodra by Nexhat Krasniqi Florim Zuka, was present when tenders” were opened, said in the indictment.

However, Fatmir Limaj's judgment, Andrew Shala, Florim Zuka's Nexhat Krasniqi, has reached the end. The prosecutor has given the final word Tuesday, demanding the conviction of the accused.

After the prosecutor, the final word has been given to the defense and the accused. The indictment is expected Friday, but without phone messages as material evidence. Those messages are found to be faked.