Third attempt to start trial over QKUK's Lushtaku escape

Sami Lushtaku and 23 other indictees are expected to appear before the court today in connection with the KKUK escape.

Sami Lushtaku, his son Mergim, currently deputy of the Kosovo Parliament, and Justice Ministry and Guardian officials are expected to appear before the tribunal today in connection with charges of leaving Sami Lushtaku from the KKUK at the time Skyeraj chairman was being tried for war crimes.

The initial session of this trial was scheduled to be held on September 25th, but was postponed because the accused Dardan Geci, Skender Tahiri's Myrvette Lushtaku, and the other sessions that were prior to being held on November 7th and 24th were not held because some of the accused were absent, thus for the third time failing to hold this session.

Following the failure of holding the initial review at the previous session, the chairman of the trial panel, Shashivar Hoti, said he would not allow the endless postponement of the hearings, since if necessary, he would use other measures to ensure the presence of the accused in court review.

But for the accused, Skender Tahiri, who at the previous hearing failed to appear at the tribunal issued a warrant for his forced conduct.

The Act relates to Sami Lushtaku's QKUK escape, Sahit Jashar and Ismet Haxha, three of the Drenica Group's indictees in 2014.

After failing to hold sessions, the prosecutor EULEX, Romulo Matthews, had called for isolating the procedure against the missing indictees, considering it an insult to justice delaying this judicial process.

But Judge Shashivar Hoti had refused the request for separate procedure, arguing that in the short term he would set the next session.

The incident, which includes a series of senior justice ministry officials, describes claims on how Lushtaku escaped from prison by showing his car and the person who carried him from the hospital to a residence.

The same describes the way after Lushtak's escape the director of Pristina's Prison was advanced to the head of the Correcting Service.

Part of the act is Lushtak's son, the Exile, whose role is described in this act of the Prosecutor.

The incident describes the involvement of other Justice Ministry officials who refused to transfer Lushtak to Mitrovica Prison.

KKUK doctors are also charged with giving false diagnosiss about Lushtak, and also part of the indictment are co-workers of Lushtak who offered witnesses before and in exchange for statements.

The accident for the QKUK escape was established last year.

In July of this year, the Supreme Court has released Lushtaku from charges of war crimes, under which he was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2015, a sentence that the Court of Appeals had reduced to 7 years in prison.