Driton Lajci is being investigated by The Hague, the justice ministry does not tell whether to download it

Millions of euros can cost the state budget protection and coverage of expenditures to be made for potential indictees by the Special Court. The whole process will be co-ordinated through the office to protect the accused, operating within the Justice Ministry and led by Driton Lajci.

The MD has refused to answer the newspaper's questions, saying that everything will be treated confidentially, while connoisseurs have demanded more transparency, sh

It is only a matter of months since the specialised prosecutor's office in The Hague lets you know who the first people to be filed with an indictment by the Special. So, at least it was said on the latest press report.

Whenever the job begins, all of the accused will have protection and coverage of spending from the office for the protection of indictees from the Special Court operating in Kosovo and led by Driton Lajci.

To do so from the state budget, millions of euros are earmarked to provide accused law and financial protection to judges.

Under the law, expenditures will be covered for any person charged by the Special Court, both for his defence or lawyer's commitment to spending trips outside Kosovo for him and his family. It also includes covering expenses for judicial procedures to the compensation of those whom the court will declare innocent.

The Kosovo government three years earlier that it was at the helm of executive Isa Mustafa had made the division of 1.5m euros, until large sums of money were divided into the previous government, when specialised prosecutor's office began sending out the first invitations.

Annie, why is that not seen by the law, the government in charge of Ramush Haradinaj had allocated tens of thousands of euros to those called for an interview. In government decisions that had not been made public, they had been separated from 70 euros per person to cover the cost of the lawyer's trip.

Despite sharing these amounts, which were made mainly for the top profile of UCK, these were not the only scandals this office faced.

In January of the year we left after, when the first people invited to The Hague were scheduled for interviews, the chief of the Special Protection Office had also gone with them.

Lajci even joined the defense at the location where the first guests of the Specialised Prosecutor's Office were interrogated, why the mandate of the office he is leading is only co-ordinating.

For this reason, the Specialised Prosecutor's Office is making investigations into the role of the office operating within the government, as well as its director, Driton Lajci. The investigation is being conducted due to possible obstruction of justice, including the claim of violating Kosovo Criminal Code provisions, which have to do with preventing official evidence or procedures, as well as intimidation during the development of the procedure.

Consequently, he was interviewed in The Hague on 17 October 2019, until he chose to defend himself quietly. This, he claims, has not been informed in advance of what specific criminal acts are involved.

Lajci's interview was not the last to have been conducted thanks to the investigations being made concerning the office operating within the Ministry of Justice.

For a few months, Riley Berisha has also been invited to The Hague under suspicion that he has released sensitive information from the office, as well as former justice minister, now deputy PDK, Abelard Tahiri. He had declared that he received an invitation in the quality of the witness.

Annie why the position Lacji holds in this office, within the ministry led by Albulen Haxhiu, is political, his dismissal with the arrival of the new government has not been disclosed as to whether he is planning.

The Express newspaper has sent questions to the Ministry of Justice to see if they plan for Lajci's dismissal, as well as have asked for a detailed report on the work that has been done so far.

However, the MD has refused to comment on what will be done on this subject, saying they are confidential. From the cabinet of Minister Haxhiu added they cannot talk about what happened during the past term.

Based on your application on March 13, 2020, we announce that the Ministry of Justice has no constitutional and legal mandate to provide information on cases where there are potentially suspects or witnesses in the processes near Special Court Special Chambers.

We also inform you that some of your requests from our institution are treated in a confidential nature and that we cannot offer answers to them.

And in the end we inform you that Minister Hadziu's cabinet can't talk about issues that haven't happened in this government's mandate”, says the Ministry for Gazette's response.

The requirement is that this office's operation become more transparent, not as it has been so far as the connoisseurs of justice.

In a response to Gazeta Express from the Kosovo Institute for Justice have stated that this office should have been transparent since it started work.

“Zyra for the Co-ordination of the Jury Defence for Predical Prescription of Special Chambers and Special Prosecutors, but also the Office of the Prime Minister of Kosovo since beginning to cover payments regarding persons who have benefited from the government fund for financial support of the potential indictees of this court has had to be transparent with the public regarding the implementation of criteria and procedures related to this fund's management. While in the previous government there has been almost no transparency in the way, form, procedures and criteria for how financial support has been provided and who has benefited from this financial support, what we should expect from the Kurti Government is to change access and offer access, but also the report about how this office worked within the Ministry of Justice, but also the way the prime minister's own tools for individuals assigned to” has declared Ehat Miftaraj from IKD.

“The IKD has consistently stated that every government is obligated to hold its officials accountable, accountgivers and only on the basis of what the law stipulates and by respecting procedures to take action against all those who have failed to fulfill the competencies and responsibilities under law”, he added.

The first charges, except that they have been set up by the specialised prosecutor, until they are made public after their confirmation. The eventual confirmation of the indictment also implies the beginning of procedures before judicial troops.

Ministerial veterans' organisations have been calling for the budget to cover expenses for potential accused to increase, as according to them, only 10 per cent of the accused will be covered in expenses.