Corruption charges confirmed against Hodge and the other three

The Court of Appeals has confirmed the indictment against former European Integration Minister Litera Hoxha and three other indictees, Ekrem Tahiri, Fitim Mustafa and Gezim Dashi.

Along with him, misuse of official position or authority is charged with Mustafa and Dushi, while Tahiri is accused of helping him commit the criminal act of misuse of official office.

According to the decision, provided by “Justice Vowtim”, Apel has rejected the complaints of indictees Fitim Mustafa, lawyer Arben Jashari, gift Hoxha, lawyer Florent Latifaj, Gzim Dashi, Kosovar lawyer Klemendi and Ekrem Tahiri, lawyer Driton Muharremi, presented against the act of the Constitutional Court in Pristina, in terms of objections and requests for dropping the act.

With the Constitutional Court's decision in Pristina, the special department of July 27, 2022, have rejected requests for dropping the indictment and rejecting evidence exercised by high-ranking defenders.

Against this act within the legal deadline has exercised the defender of the accused Mustafa, lawyer Jashari, due to violation of the criminal procedure's provisions, the wrong application of material provisions and the error and incomplete confirmation of the actual situation. The same one has proposed that the Court of Appeals approve the complaint as based, the complaining decision to change it so as to drop the charge exercised against Mustafa.

Lawyer Latifaj for the accused Hoxha has filed complaints because of violating the penal procedure provisions, violating criminal law and not completely proving the actual situation with the proposal that the Court of Appeals turn the case into restoration or reject the indictment and dismiss criminal procedures.

While lawyer Kelmendi has not specified the causes of complaint but has proposed that the Court of Appeals approve the complaint, and the indictment be dismissed as unfounded.

Meanwhile, the lawyer, Muharrem for the accused Tahiri, has filed complaints due to the substantial violation of criminal procedure, wrong and incomplete agreement of the actual situation and violation of material provisions. He has proposed that Appeals approve the complaint and drop the charge or cancel the act and return the case to restoration.

The Appeals Prosecutor, with the August 31st 2022 parachute, has proposed that complaints of defendants' defenders be denied as groundless and the complaining verdict be confirmed.

Reasoning the Appeals Court's decision is not based on the court's decision that first court decisions have rightly been assessed by defenders, and according to Apel sufficient reason has been given that the indictment filed by P The SRK, evidence proves there is enough evidence to support well-based doubt that defendants committed the criminal acts they are accused of by relying on material evidence.

Thus, according to Apel from the assessment of the subject paperwork for this phase of the procedure, there is no circumstance that could meet the conditions for opposing evidence, as well as conditions for throwing the indictment.

On the other hand, in the argument of this decision, it is said that the first degree court has broadly given reasons regarding the suspicion based on the evidence based on the controversial and just evidence that sufficient evidence exists, acceptable in the legal-procedural sense, based on evidence found in the subject documents and that the actions described in the indictment now exist the vital elements of the criminal acts for which the accused are accused, so the Court of Appeals stresses that in this direction the complaint claims are groundless.

And it is also said that the claims of defenders regarding evidence, which have been presented in this indictment, are groundless because according to them, Apelni finds that, in principle, evidence to the defendants has been taken legally as the credibility and assessment of evidence belongs to the first degree court to assess the evidence in relation to all the accused and decide on their administration in the court procedure.

According to Appeals, other defence claims mainly involve assessing evidence, which this court finds that in this phase of the procedure no evidence can be assessed, but the same must be managed in the open court review.

For the top reasons, this court estimates that the first-degree court has deemed it fair when it refused the defenders' demands for the dropping of the indictment and rejecting the evidence as groundless.

Otherwise, at the initial session held on June 1st 2022, accused Hoxha, Tahiri, Mustafa and Dushi were declared innocent.

The Special Prosecutor of the Republic of Kosovo (PSRK), through the indictment filed against former Minister Hoxha, is claiming that the same misuse of official office as minister, under suspicion that he had used the MIE contract to promote the campaign in the 2019 parliamentary elections, while this contract served to inform citizens about the visa liberalisation process.

According to the indictment provided by “Justice Vow”, which was established on 12 May 2022, the Award Hoxha was charged that in the quality of MIE minister had signed the Public Information Services contract for MIE needs and economic operator “PR Method”.

The indictment reportedly said that even though this procurement activity was intended to inform citizens of the visa liberalisation process and the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (MSA), defendant Hoxha opposed the law, as the minister had used this by promoting her election campaign as deputy in parliamentary elections held on 6 October 2019.

The promotion was reportedly carried out with the publication of residents, videos that highlighted defendant Hoxha, and contrary to the principles and conditions of this contract, enabling the defendant to take unfair advantage at the expense of Kosovo's budget, in the amount of 143, 447 euros and 80 cents.

Defendant Fitim Mustafa stands accused of deliberately misusing the official responsible for the MIE procurement post after contracting two economic operators, “PR Method” and N. Sh “2B”, originally selected by the Rating Commission as the OE, which had met the criteria under the tender file for procurement activity “Caltrata for public information services on MIE's”, placing additional criteria in the tender file, and thus illegally impacting OE to eliminate OE, which had offered the price for about $192 of 700 euros lower in a tender by the lowest price, while in terms of the reward contract <6> PR Method”

With this, there is good-based suspicion that defendant Mustafa has committed the criminal act of abuse of official office or authority, by Article 414, par.2 of the Criminal Code.

Defendant Guzim Dushi is charged with the quality of the MIE communications and information official, in the August 2019-January 2020 period, being contract manager: <x0).

According to the indictment, the defendant had allowed services to be accepted and payments carried out, even though he was aware that the accepted services were not the constitutional conditions of the contract, and that he was aware that the accepted services involving the publication of residents, articles and videos that highlighted defendant Hoxha for the October 6th 2019 parliamentary elections, in which the indicted Hoxha had also run.

With this, there is a well-founded suspicion that he committed the criminal act of abuse of official office or authority, by Article 1414, par.2 of KPRK.

Defendant Ekrem Tahiri is charged that from August to October 2019 in quality of co-owner and company director “PR Method” Shpk, whose company had signed with MIE with the aim of informing citizens about the various processes of MIE activity, had deliberately failed to comply with the contract, even though you were aware that the services performed were not the services offered to the constitutional terms of the contract under the tender file.

With these actions, there is good-founded suspicion that he committed the criminal act of helping him execute the abuse of official office, while the prosecution has fired his investigation into criminal fraud.

The Special Prosecutor has demanded that the defendants donate Hoxha, Gezim Dashi and Fitim Mustafa toubar exercise of office in public administration.

On the other hand, against each defendant, he has asked the court to pronounce the supplementary sentence ordered to compensate for Kosovo's budget damage.

Otherwise, Hoxha on charges of corruption is being charged with another case.