Koci shows whether Hashim Thaci will be charged by Special Court

The lawyer, Arianan Koci, in the interview given “Gazeta Blic”, has spoken even about the possibility that President Thaci is accused by the tribunal of crimes, saying he believes Thaci will not be charged because he has already witnessed at The Hague Tribunal that the KLA war has been fair and that charges against KLA leaders have come as a consequence of the activities of Serbian services.

He has further commented to the Special Court, where he said the charges from this court could be filed by the end of the summer.

Koci says all legal procedures have been completed and thus there are no legal barriers to the court's start of work.

He further says the establishment of charges depends on prosecutors and the dynamics of work they will do. Koci has further criticised the Special Court consolidation process, calling it a non-transparent process and developing away from the eyes of the Kosovo public.

The following is the full interview with Arian Kocin:

Blic newspaper: According to media reports, the Special Court will start its activity within this year, and the first charges are expected this year. Can you tell us more about these developments and believe this will be the year in which the first charges against people allegedly committed war crimes at the Special Court will be filed?

Arianian Koci: The interest of our society is to get this process done as soon as possible. At the same time, we need to be very alert in the quality of evidence Serbia offers. Now this process has been prolonged, which has created more confusion than it has offered clarifications. Procedurally, there is no longer any obstacle to an act. I believe we've already entered a new dynamic development and, as such, it is expected, that after summer vacation the first charges would be established. However, since the entire Special Court consolidation process has taken place away from the Kosovo public, I consider that this has also been characterised with a marked transparency. I don't want to think that this non-transparency will be taken with violation of the rights of potential indictees.

Blic newspaper: Can you tell us if any other legal procedures that are necessary to function the Special Court have not been adopted and to begin its activity?

Arianian Koci: As I highlighted earlier, all legal formalities have ended. It will now depend on the dynamics themselves that prosecutors determine in their cases, as well as the Special Court itself.

Blic newspaper: According to reports by Der Spiegel about the Special Court, President Thaci may also be part of the war crimes causes. Can you comment on these reports?

Arianian Koci: Any information that has been broken up about the Special Court so far is at the level of speculation.

Even Dick Marty's report is very flawed. Who believes the theory of organ trafficking?
It is notation that different reports, as a source of information, have Serbian services.
However, I don't want to deal with speculation about the president of Kosovo.
In fact, I have full confidence that Mr. Thaci has fought fair and clean wars.

The KLA has not committed crimes. He fought defensively.
It was a forced war.

Of course, there may be individuals who have misused the KLA's name, and committed crimes.

They have individual responsibilities, and let them deal with them.

In the first phase, however, all defendants are protected by the principle of presuming innocence. Moreover, I am convinced that no one can prove guilt without quality and powerful evidence. The fact that a person can be charged, not necessarily, will also be judged with punishment judgment. We have experiences with The Hague Tribunal. I believe in the innocence of KLA leaders, and this will also be confirmed by the Special Court. /Gazzeta Blic. com/