Salih Mustafa's lawyer says attack on the Jashar family consolidated Kosovo's resistance for independence

Salih Mustafa's defence has begun to submit the opening statement before the court at Kosovo's Specialised Chambers in The Hague. In its first part, lawyer Julius Von Bone has spoken of the fair fight of the Kosovo Liberation Army and the other side of the crimes Serbia has committed on Albanian civilians in Kosovo during the recent war.

At the opening of the statement, Mustafa's lawyer has said the attack on the Jashar family in Prekaz has served turning points for the resistance of the people of Kosovo.

“Adem Jashar is considered a legendary KLA commander, his patriotic and heroic efforts for Kosovo's liberation remember to this day in Kosovo -- that is, the liberation from a brutal regime. With March 5, 6, and 7th of 1998, military and police forces attacked the complex of Adem Jashar's family in Preskaz, Drenica area. Serbian forces thought that with the murder of the entire Yasar family, the resistance of the Kosovo people would have taken a final blow, as much as resistance would have stopped. The mass murder of 59 people in the Jashar family complex, including many children, some of whom no longer than 7 years old, is one of the worst crimes of the Serbian regime ever committed in Kosovo. One of the numerous crimes Serbian forces committed in Kosovo”, Salih Mustafa's lawyer has said.

Recalling the brutal attack by Serbian forces, Von Bone has called it an oppressive regime, but has encountered strong resistance with widespread support among all of Kosovo's people.

As regards NATO's intervention in Kosovo, Von Bone has said it was humanitarian intervention that was extremely necessary.

Serbia's “Forces did not prevent their actions for ethnic cleansing at the time. They continued regularly to expel strongly the Kosovo citizens of Albanian nationality from their homes. The most important date in this context is the large-scale deportation of Albanians from the Pristina train station. On March 31st 1999, which is another day deeply embedded in the minds of many Kosovo citizens, this has happened, which was an event of importance in Kosovo. This has been described as one of the important events in O reports. The SEU that you can find in the case files. It's Pristina neighborhood cleaning”, Von Bone said.

During the opening statement, Mustafa's defence has spoken of the expulsion of Albanians from their property in Kosovo.

While regarding the indictment against his defender, Von Bone has spoken more about the locations in Kosovo and the part of Zlatshi.

He also presented photos of the footage before the court but the same were not made public.

There's no material defined in the court file around Zlatshi, we know roughly where Zlati stands, there's no clear limit of this area, that's a large area where houses are scattered across the area. There is no centre of Zlatko, or the village of Zlatshi, in the administrative view of the Zlatko area falls under Mramo, which is a much larger village on the edge of the mountainous area, to write in Zlath from Pristina is quite a journey, especially to the site designated in the indictment. It is a journey that spends most of its time on unpaved roads. It's cold during the winter, the streets are full of mud, and it's hard to drive by car”, he said.

Von Bone will continue presenting the opening statement of defence today. And before the court tomorrow, the first defense witness will speak.

The Act against Salih Mustafa, who is the first arrested by the Special, was confirmed on June 12th 2020, as he was arrested on September 24th last year, on the claim of war crimes.

He is standing at The Hague's detention centre, while in his statement to the court, Salih Mustafa has been declared innocent.