Gas in Parliament, Minister Haxhiu, Pal Lekaj, and others are quietly protected

Justice Minister Albulen Haxhiu, MP Pal Lekaj and former Presidents Donika Cadaj-Bujupi and Besa Battiu, have been quietly protected over charges weighing on them on tear gas drop in 2016, in the spaces of the Kosovo Assembly.

Before they claimed to be protected in silence, at the session, which is being held at the Constitutional Court in Pristina this Tuesday, the accused were once again declared innocent of arms-free arms charges, reports “Justice Vowy for”.

Prosecutor Ilaz Beqiri in the opening address said the prosecution has conducted investigations and provided sufficient evidence, with which he said it proves that all elements of the criminal act are manifested in the actions of the defendants.

Justice Minister Albulen Haxhiu said the actions made in 2015-2016 have been political action, in defence of sovereignty and territorial integrity, and, according to it, have had no criminal intention or intention of damaging the physical integrity of any Parliament deputy.

Our “goal has been to prevent hearings and voting harmful agreements for the country. If we did not take such political action today, the consequences would be great and serious”, Haxhiu said.

Defending accused Paul Lekaj, lawyer Arian Koci said that despite the prosecutor's statement that they have secured evidence, in reality, no relevant evidence has been secured.

All evidence is at the legal level of the prosecution, and you court knows guilt is not proven by words and interpretations of the film footage we've seen on television. If the prosecution claims tear gas was dropped, where is the expert, what kind of tear gas it is, I am surprised how the prosecutor thinks they prove my defense guilt without any evidence”, Koci said.

For this reason, Koci said that if by the end of the trial the prosecution did not bring any new evidence, then he said there is no possibility that Lekaj's guilt would be proven.

Ex-Deputate Donika Kada-Bujupi, in her opening address, said that they have never been concealed from their actions at the Assembly hearings, adding that they stand behind those actions and do not regret it, as she said, those actions have been right and right for the time in which they were taken.

I agree that there have been procedural violations on the part of the prosecution, lack of expertise for tear gas, which even in the highest instance in the Strasbourg Court, is not considered a weapon, just as we are accused. I think the prosecution's procrastination has caused damage for most of us, has made us unable to run and recontinent, and I believe that this is a bull that has been deliberately caused. I call on you to close these processes as they are prolonged and overextended. It's a violation of the Constitution in relation to us”, Qada-Bujupi said.

The other former delegation, Besa Battiu, said their actions in the Kosovo Assembly have been political actions, and as such, she said they have been necessary for the country's integrity and sovereignty.

Initially, the judge of this case has been Judge Naim Krasniqi Yashanica, but after passing it from the Randa Crime Department to the General Department, this case is being tried by Judge Fatime Dermaku.

For this occasion, six sessions were put off in a row, namely, hearings on July 10th and July 30th, September 2nd and September 15, 2020, as well as those scheduled to be held on March 16th and April 1, 2021. According to the indictment filed on April 8, 2016, Lekaj, Baftiu, Cadaj-Bujupi and Haxhiu are charged with without authorization having possessed tear gas canisters.

The indictment says that on February 19, 2016, around 12:20, in the Kosovo Parliament hall, after a pause in the Parliament's work until the accused were returning to the hall during the check by the Parliament's security workers, the accused had been found and seized by a tear gas balloon, which they kept without authorization.

For these actions, the four indictees are suspected to have each separately committed criminal work “ownership, control or unauthorized possession of weapons” by Article 374, paragraph 1 of KPRK. /Betimi for Justice/