Defence urges Salih Mustafa to be acquitted of all charges

The defence has demanded that Salih Mustafa be acquitted of all charges weighing on him and demanding his release as soon as possible.

Lawyer Julius von Bone has said before the court that Mustafa has never committed crimes but has put himself at risk for others by serving the general goal of the people of Kosovo to gain independence.

That, von Bone, has said during the final defence statement at Kosovo's Specialised Chambers in The Hague.

“The defence requires Mr. Mustafa's not guilty statement on all charges he was charged with, he has never committed any crime, he has put himself at risk for many while serving the overall objective of all of Kosovo's people, which was gaining independence for people who had fought to be free, for a long period of time. Mr. Mustafa has endured a difficult and long period of his detention, he has suffered detention, he has not violated any of the orders that were determined by the court, said the defence attorney.

Mustafa's defence has called for justice and added that Mustafa must be released as soon as possible from custody.

Mr. Mustafa has been detained since September 2020, Mr Mustafa is a father and a husband, while defence requires innocence for Mr. Mustafa on all charges brought against him, Mr Mustafa must be released as soon as possible. I would like to point out that the defense and address the SPS here, we have never involved that the victims who have witnessed in this matter have fabricated or fabricated their stories, as the SPS has stated in its statement, we have never done this in the past, we never do it today, and we never do it, so it's wrong to draw this conclusion or say such a thing, only the position and position of protection are completely different, and we have different opinions as it belongs to the alleged crime site, or things that happened or not, and if Mustafa had any connection or no relationship with the country where he could have been, he said.

With this defence has closed its final statement as the hearing at The Hague continues with statements by the Specialised Prosecutor's Office concerning cases that the defence side has raised.

At Tuesday's hearing, the prosecution has demanded that Salih Mustafa plead guilty to the four points of the indictment and receive a 35-year sentence.

At the beginning of this process, Salih Mustafa, who faces charges of alleged war crimes, had been declared innocent before the court.

According to the Specialised Chambers “The confirmed indictment stipulates that approximately between April 1st 1999 and April 19, 1999, at a detention complex in Zlatko, Kosovo, arbitrary detention crimes, cruel treatment and torture against at least six persons” were committed. Also, in the indictment it is said that “in a date between April 19, 1999, or about this date, and about the end of April 1999, a banned “was killed at that location.

Salih Mustafa is staying in custody at The Hague from September 24th 2020, when he was arrested.