Trial of Judge Sali Berisha charged with bribery begins

One such thing was concluded at Friday's hearing by the chairman of the court, Judge Mentor Bajraktari.

Judge Bajraktari announced that until the court was changed, the former member, Judge Shadije Grguri, was not present at this hearing for health reasons.

The court's “amendment has been due to the health state of the court member, which is not known how long it will therefore be, for not procrastinating this case, there has been a court change where the Special Department leader has been announced for the matter as well as the head of this court”, Judge Bajraktari said, the “Bettim for Justice”.

This has been opposed by the defender of accused Sali Berisha, whose lawyer Besnik Berisha said they had objective remarks because, according to him, the most important part of this trial has been the testimony of co-operative witness and the initiator of this case, which he said evidence was given with tears and apologies in previous hearings.

In this regard, Judge Bajraktari addressed Berisha that the new court member, Judge Lutfi Shala, is informed of all the contents of witness testimony Florim Zekaj, so the criminal case continued with the changing composition of the court.

As the indictment is considered and read, the parties in the procedure have continued with the giving of the opening word.

Prosecutor Ilirjana Colaku-Tafa said she remains on the whole next to the earlier opening speech, while lawyer Berisha has said today they are undisposed and fear that changing the court will penalise a fair trial for accused Sali Berisha.

The defense in this concrete case is not to expose or change what has happened, but it has been and remains to prove the drive, the drive, the motive of a convicted criminal to trap an unconventioned judge. That's why we're going to demand that Mr. Berishas allow a fair trial and with particular emphasis to presumptions innocent and not burden the burden of testing, but to be given the opportunity to make court shame impartial, independent”, Berisha has said.

The same said that the pressure that anyone may have had on this trial to end as soon as it didn't get fated up to the one seeking justice because, according to him, if it were for his attorney, his defense now 10 years would be in Dubrava.

On the other hand, the court has rejected attorney Berisha's proposal for witness hearings Florim Zeka before the new court member with the same cases was considered read and read.

The trial has continued with the hearing of witness Visar Shala.

Responding to special prosecutor Colak Taffe's questions, witness Shala said he had been assigned by his superiors to investigate the subject of accused Sali Berisha, where the report had initially been made on the part of case complainer Florim Zekaj, who had filed a complaint with the Directorate for Economic Crimes and then, according to him, had continued conducting investigations based on information filed by the complainer.

He has said the first statement from the complainer had been received by him, along with colleagues who had assisted him in this case, Fidan Maliqi and Blerim Shala.

Regarding this statement, witness Shala said the complainer had first gone to report a subject to a judge of the Court of Appeals, who, according to him, had been asked about 200 thousand euros in order to drop or remove the suffering of the sentence he had had had had in a case of complaint.

The Witness said that during the investigation that they were conducting, among other things, the subject was applied to Sali Berisha, as well as to another Peja judge who is currently unaware of where his name is, he had declared that these two persons had asked him for money in order to assist in the court procedure against Florim Zekaj's brother, to whom criminal proceedings had been conducted in Pec.

According to the witness, complainer Florim Zekaj, in addition to these two judges, had reported to several other judges who said that as far as one remembers, one had been from Istog while the next case was to Rafet Ismajli, as well as to a police official Blerim Gashi.

He has stressed that witness Florim Zekaj had declared that Judge Sali Berisha, as well as the other judge whose name he does not remember, but that both of them are from Peja had been given a lot of about 4,000 euros in order to assist in judicial procedure against his brother for criminal work smuggling with migraines and that, according to him, he had been given 2000 euros as a result of this agreement.

Asked by Special Prosecutor Colak -What is the procedure that they follow in cases where a person reports any offenses, witness Shala said initially filed a statement to the police along with an official note had been sent to the Special Prosecution, respectively, to the prosecutor at the time Blerim Isufaj, where, according to him, criminal outcry had been filed for the two judges in question and then on the police side was made for a secret amount of stimululation that was issued on the court's side with which Macedonia had begun implementing this ordinance.

Responding to the special prosecutor's questions about whether Florim Zekaj had any problems with the law at the time he appeared as a complainer to the police, witness Shala said that Zekaj had had a problem with the law, and, according to him, had been sentenced for about four years as long as he remembered for criminal acts of fraud and as a result of not going to the punishment under him had demanded an appeal judge of 200 thousand euros in order to get him back to zero point the act.

Witness Shala said he had never promised Zekaj that he would help him in matters related to his problems with the law.

He has also clarified that Zekij had had an act of decisive form on the part of the Constitutional Court in Mitrovica, which he had been serving in the suffering of punishment.

Asked by special procuratory Colaku-Tafa whether he remembered whether he had begun the suffering of the sentence at the time, witness Shala said he is not safe, but as far as he remembers Zakaj had been sent to Dubrava but that the same one had returned again the same day.

While questioned about how Florim Zekiaj's meeting with accused Sali Berisha had been initiated, witness Shala said the initiative of this meeting was made precisely on the part of Florim Zekaj, who, according to him, had contacted Salih to meet on the critical day.

He explained that the purpose of this meeting was to provide the remaining 2000-euro amount of judges Sali Berisha and other judges.

While questioned about the implementation of this secret move, witness Shala has said that the money was initially given for the simulation of criminal work by the police fund in the 2000 euro amount, which had previously been registered in a serial number, and that then the technical equipment of the secret measures for recording the conversation with the complainer had continued for Peja where he met in a restaurant with Judge Sali Berisha while the other judge who had thought he would not come.

After that, he said they had entered Florim Zekaj's car where you had had the money that Judge Sali Berisha had given him after taking over which the judge had dropped out of the car and nearly 100 to 200 meters after being stopped by Kosovo police and had been arrested.

In addition, during his testimony witness Shala stated that during the interview of Florim Zekiaj at the Dubrava hold centre, the same one had expressed concern about the fact that his family had felt threatened with the reasoning that some senior political people had told the same person to withdraw from all statements given to the police.

Next hearings regarding this criminal case were scheduled for June 6th and June 5th and July 6, 2022.

Otherwise, the initial and second reviews were held by Judge Arben Hoti, who had decided on defence objections, but after the return of the case to the restoration by the Court of Appeals and after the appointment of Judge Hoti as president of the Constitutional Court in Pristina, the subject was handed over by Judge Mentor Bajraktari, who had later decided again according to Apel.

According to the indictment, filed on February 5, 2020, by the Special Prosecutor of the Republic of Kosovo, defendant Sali Berisha, judge at the Department of Serious Crimes at the Criminal Court, is charged with having directly sought and accepted benefits in order to act contrary to his official office.

As reported in the indictment, on September 19, 2019, defendant Berisha had met with witness F.Z., who had accepted the amount of 2 thousand euros, and who had agreed that in a case for two criminal acts “smuggling with migrants” was charged with the brother of witness F.Z., the defendant Berisha, as chairman of the panel, to pronounce favourable sentences, in which he had pronounced a three-year sentence, provided he did not commit another offense within two years.

For this, he is accused of committing criminal work “taking bribes” under Article 421, paragraph 2 concerning paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code, which is fined and sentenced to imprisonment of three to 12 years.

In addition, Judge Berisha is charging that until September 19th, 2019, he held without permission a type pistol “Za Mini”, 8mm calibre, along with 10 rounds, which had been seized on the case of the raid on his residence in Pec.

Otherwise, the Kosovo Judiciary Council (KGJK), at an extraordinary meeting on September 20, 2019, had suspended Judge Sali Berisha following his arrest, under suspicion of involvement in criminal acts of corruption.