Peter Shala's lawyer at The Hague says it is difficult to find living documents and witnesses

His lawyer Jean-Louis Gilissen has said that they are working on cases allegedly occurred 20 years ago, and that, according to him, is making the investigation difficult.

He has declared it difficult to find living documents and witnesses.

At this conference, the preliminary procedure judge has set May 31st as the preliminary date for passing the court file.

For the conduct of the investigations, the specialised Prosecutor's Office has been declared at private hearings, while stressing that they expect investigations to be completed within the following months. And Judge Nicolas Guillou has thought that it has been two years since the establishment of the indictment.

Two years have passed since the indictment and almost a year since the defendant's arrest, I'm a little surprised we're still in this phase, at this point”, the presiding court said.

Shala's lawyer, Jean-Louis Gilissen, has said he is aiming for a fair trial, but has added they are facing difficulties during the investigation.

We've already started with the investigation, we've walked at important steps, in the opinion that's a big deal, but we have to get down to the ground in March and April for investigations into more important steps. As I've informed you, we're working more than 20 years after it happened, finding documents now is very difficult, finding witnesses to be alive is delicate work, and finding reliable witnesses is also difficult. I understand the will and the desire to move forward, we are walking, very difficult, the prosecution's own investigation has taken years, we've just started, a few weeks, Gilissen said, adding that defence takes several months for investigation.

This defence conference has also been discussed for a witness, but the hearing has continued and closed.

It has become known at this conference that there are still no deadlines for meeting the pre-trial commitment.

“Set a preliminary date for passing the judicial file on May 31st. Although this is the preliminary date of any deadline requirement must be based on binding circumstances, the second, the SPS must hand over the remaining requirements regarding the extraction process in particular those requirements involving safeguard clauses no later than March 18th, 2022. The defence will hand over the extraction requirements in particular no later than April 28th 2022”, he said.

The next conference on the performance of the issue is expected to be held on April 14, 2022.

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 arrest and command for transfer issued by Kosovo's Specialised Chambers.