Peter Shala's lawyer requires that correct indictment be published as soon as possible

Conference on the performance of the case against former Kosovo Liberation Army member(UÇK) is held in The Hague's Specialised Chambers. The sides have discussed the investigation process, translation and extraction of materials. Shala's defence, attorney Jean-Louis Gilissen has asked the Special Prosecutor's Office(ZPS) to publish the newly edited version of the indictment and to be discussed at the upcoming conference.

Gilissen has said the corrected indictment, which the ZPS issued on November 1st 2021, is not yet public, and according to him, such a document of this importance should be made public as soon as possible.

I'm sorry that this important document that is a fundamental document to this procedure is not public even though 15 days have passed by its extraction. Of course, it is not a rebuke to the administrative office I understand very well the difficulties but the withdrawal from SPS as far as Mr. Shala's participation in some elements based on the points and charges in the initial indictment are very important to Mr. Shala for the procedure, but in particular for those who follow this procedure, I am referring to Mr. Shala's family, but also to the media”, he said.

Shala's defence has demanded that the corrected indictment be discussed at the upcoming conference, but the same must be made public in advance.

I would insist that the public version of the indictment be released as soon as possible because the current version of the indictment that is presented on the website and in the media does not reflect the reality, facts or deeds that the prosecution possibly assigns to Mr. Shala and which Mr. Shala certainly denied. The corrected act should be debated at the upcoming conference on the performance of the pro-do issue, which should be public”, he added.

And from the prosecution it has been said that if the same did not participate in documents that the prosecution issued to the defence prosecution, it would soon surrender.

But lawyers have declared they have not found it in any of the documents they have submitted by the prosecution.

And the trial judge, Nicolas Guillou, has asked the defence if he intends to apply for future detention reviews.

Under a decision, the defence will be handed over for future detention reviews no later than December 17th, 2021, while responses and retaliations will be made under regulated deadlines.

The defence is said to agree that the request for revision will be made before the holiday period, which begins on December 20, 2021, but that if postponed after the break, they have declared they should consult Peter Shala for the next steps.

While the pre-procedure judge has indicated he does not anticipate such requests before the break since it is not compatible with the calendar.

Guillou has said that if the defence decides not to hand over any pre-emptives within this deadline, the ZPS hand over the statements for future detention reviews no later than December 23rd 2021 and defence could hand over its demands no later than January 5th 2022.

As for discussions on the investigation, the Specialised Prosecutor's Office has said additional investigative steps will be completed before the handover of the pre-trial file, for which the SPS has the deadline to hand over until January 28th, 2022.

While the defence aims to conduct operational investigations of its evidence presentation, it has already committed persons who will help conduct investigations in the field.

Lawyer Jean-Louis Gilissen has also raised concern about translations he has said Peter Shala needs since he has to read documents in Albanian.

Mr. Shala must read in the language he understands and I think the main decision should be to translate fully in such a way that the accused is fully informed. Let me give you an example, I'm referring specifically to the decision made by you, judge as is the decision on preliminary motions, as we speak these decisions have not yet been translated, some people may say that this is not a problem, but this means that we are obliged to discuss with Mr. Shala the possibility of appealing this decision, while Mr. Shala has not read a complete translation into the Albanian language of this document”, Shala's defense said.

The prosecutor is said to have handed over translations to them, and the remainder will be translated and delivered soon.

It was the fourth conference on the performance of the case of Peter Shala, former member of The NLA, which the Special Prosecutor's Office accuses of war crimes.

Peter Shala was arrested on March 16th 2021 by Belgian authorities and transferred to The Hague on April 15, 2021, on the basis of a request for co-operation in implementing the warrant and order for transfer issued by Kosovo's Specialised Chambers.