Haradinaj at the session will testify in the case of “Veterans”

In this case, for misuse of official position or authority, former Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku, former Defence Minister Rrustem Berisha, MP 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”.

The proposal for Haradinaj's hearing, as a witness to this trial, had been granted by the defender of accused Shkumbin Demalijaj, lawyer Arian Koci, at the February 7th session this year.

Haradinaj, was in advance to testify at the February 21st session, but which had been cancelled due to health causes of Judge Nushe Kuka-Mekaj, while Haradinaj had not attended the February 24th session, for which Kuka-Mekaj session had said there is no evidence that the witness had accepted the invitation.

At the February 24th session, Hisen Berisha and Fazli Rugova were heard in quality of witnesses.

But in this judgment, the court's decision against publishing testimony to the conclusion of all evidence still remains.

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.

But, on April 1, 2019, the court had rejected this request, arguing that the proposal for provisional measures 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.