Case “Venterians”, session launched against Agim Ceku and others

With the witness's hearing, H.G., on Monday at the Constitutional Court in Pristina, it is expected to start the trial in the case known as “Venters”.

In this case, for misuse of official position or authority, former Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku, incumbent Defence Minister Rrustem Berisha, former delegation Shkumbin Demalijaj, and nine other people are charged.

They are accused of being part of the Government Commission for recognition and Verification of the Status of the Nation's Witness, Invalid, Vetmanan, Partitary and KLA War Intervention, reports the “Justice Vought”.

But their testimony, according to the court's decision, Nushe Kuka Macay, will not be made public.

Judge Kuka-Mekaj, at the December 4th, 2019 session, had issued a ruling with which he had banned the publication of witness testimony by the media until the end of the trial process.

Such a decision, the judge had made it so that the court could not be harmed in this case, so that witnesses would not be able to read each other's testimony and thus coordinate the evidence.

Similarly, the court had decided that even witnesses would not be revealed to the media, but to be referred to in initial terms, even though the judge himself had acknowledged that they are not protected witnesses, but the purpose is not to damage the judicial process in this case.

Otherwise, the Constitutional Court in Pristina, on June 19, 2019, had confirmed the indictment, while the Court of Appeals had confirmed that ruling in August of this year.

With the SPRK indictment, it was also required that the Constitutional Court in Pristina be commissioned by the Ministry of Labour and Social Management (MPMS) to suspend payment of pensions for 19,500 veterans until the outcome of the judicial process. has rejected the Special Prosecutor's request of the Republic of Kosovo (PSRK) for the temporary ban on pensions for the false “veterians”.

But, on April 1, 2019, he had rejected this request with the argument that the proposal for the interim move is not against the accused, but against the MPMS as the third party.

According to the indictment prepared by former special prosecutor Elez Blakaj, the people involved are charged that between 2011 and 2017, acting as members of the Government Commission for recognition and Verification of the Status of the Nation's Witness, Invaledit, Veteran, Partitor and Intervent of the Kosovo Liberation Army War, have used the duty and official authority, passing over competencies and failing to fulfill the official duties, in order to benefit other persons illegally, in order to continue, at the damage to the budget of the Republic of Kosovo.

This indictment includes 12 persons who are charged with criminal work “misusing official position or authority”.

As had been reported by “Justice Trust”, the list of accused persons led Agim Ceku, followed by Nuredin Lushtiu, Sadik Halitijaha, Shumbin Demalijaj, Qele Gashi, Shukri Buja, Ahmet Daku, Rrustem Berisha, Faik Fazliu, Smajl Elezaj, Fadil Shudaj and Xavit Jashar.

The PSRK, too, had proposed to this court that it should release the measure to prevent the payment of illegally acquired pensions as KLA veteran fighters, until the end of the criminal procedure.

In addition, according to the SPRK, evidence provided so far has proved that illegal payments to KLA war veterans has been damaged in many of the Republic of Kosovo's 68,153,533.14 euros.

While, with the indictment handed down to the court on December 7th 2018, it is claimed that the Republic of Kosovo budget has been damaged in many of the 88.769,217.04 euros.