Emmerson: Part of the crimes the prosecution claims occurred in times when the KLA had actual function

Former Prime Minister Kadri Veselini's lawyer, Ben Emmerson, has explained today at the next charter session that the share of crimes Kosovo Liberation Army leaders are accused of, occurred at times when this organisation had no organisation and no actual functioning opportunities on the ground.

He says most of the crimes the Special Prosecutor claims were committed occurred at the time when the population had returned to their homes, following Serbian offensives, implying that many crimes have occurred as revenge.

Most of the crimes occurred in the summer of 1998, 99, on both sides, at exactly when The KLA had no organisation. In the spring, from the beginning of the attack on the Jashari family and Haradinaj until the summer of 1998, the Serb forces' shares were blocked, and the KLA had no options and means to move and organise. People returning to Kosovo may have returned with revenge. All these issues must be considered. And that's where the KLA's ability to control” is interrupted, the British lawyer said.

The main elements of the indictment against Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veselini, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi include command responsibility, claiming a KLA organisation with a clear vertical hierarchy line.