“On behalf of people without listening to the people”, special sessions are deemed nontransparent

From associations released from the KLA war say this court that makes decisions “on behalf of the people” does not allow people to hear a word of witness testimony. According to them, no witness has to fear and hide.

Lawyer Florim Shefqeti says that considering security measures for protection of identity and personality for the anonymous witness, Kosovo has not had to be deprived of hearing the witness questioning.

“We have seen the beginning of the first witness's statement which has been concealed his identity and personality, as well as his appearance and voice have been protected. Therefore, in the sense of the weight and importance of the principle of publicity under the provisions provided for hiding his identity and appearance, we appreciate that he did not have to deprive the general public, including the Kosovar, and others, of listening to the statements of the first witness and we believe that this would continue as a practice in all the judgment. So, we'll have a non-public judgment and that doesn't affect whatever decision it is to create public perception regarding judicial process”, Shefqeti added.

Shefqeti also considers that with these court decisions, the process against former KLA leaders is becoming untransparent.

He even believes that this closing practice of hearings with the reasoning for the protection of special witnesses would be used by the end of the trial.

“We believe that in any kind of judgment that is not public we've seen in the local aspect of when the hearing has been made has after reactions for lack of transparency, and therefore this also certainly affects the lack of transparency and I'm speaking personally we won't be able to judge any decision or give thought to that decision in the absence of witness hearing and circumstances that are declared... On the basis of this that started with the first witness for reasons that they were allegedly given that in witness protection we believe that by the end it will continue in this form“he said.

Monitoring the trial process at The Hague by the Fund for Humanitarian Law in Kosovo (FDHK), Amer Alija says that this week 99% judicial hearings in the case of former KLA leaders have been closed to the public with the reasoning of witness protection.

According to him, the court should see to it that in addition to statements that may reveal the identity of the witness, the rest of the testimony is open to the public.

“As far as the principle of publicity or transparency of these court processes is concerned that these cases have enough attention and interest for the Kosovo public, courts have to make sure that information or statements, part of statements that do not relate to the identity of family or witness being open to the public because even the public, media and monitors have the right to have their own opinion, an impression that if, at the end of the declaration of the conviction, there is enough evidence to be either a founding or condemning decision... The complete closure of hearing hearing hearing hearings from anonymous witnesses is not correct, not all testimony from the witness should be closed to us in the past and the trials before international missions, we have after the change of voice and photography, but to say the majority of the testimony has been open to the public and monitoring because not every question and not every answer has to identity. The public is more interested in breaking the statement if there is enough evidence, incriminating, or what the statement on which the prosecution is based. The chairman of the court and the court should be careful not to edit all hearings when we have anonymous witnesses”, Alija says.

The hearing of the first witness in Thaci's case and others at private public hearings also concerns the Association of Witness Families.

Xhavit Jashari of this relationship says these special actions testify that this court is unilateral and political and aims at criminalising the Kosovo Liberation Army war.

<x) All these things that are happening in this process we now expect to see because it is only the beginning that it strongly argues that these trends are to criminalise the war of the Kosovo Liberation Army... The concern is, however, because if anyone is, as the prosecution is saying, and they're being taken as witnesses is closed hearings passed into private and the witness is not known, and if there are witnesses who have been members of the KLA they have to come out and they don't have to hide, yet here we are dealing with people sold, and there are also bought people and many of this court has worked with the Serbian prosecution”, says Jashar.

Since 11 April, the Hague Specialised Chambers have started presenting prosecutorial evidence in the trial of Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veselin, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi.

While, on April 3rd in The Hague after two years of preliminary procedure, the trial of former Kosovo Liberation Army leaders began on charges of alleged war crimes.

Since the launch of the trial, former KLA leaders were acquitted of all charges charged by the Special Prosecutor in The Hague. But even their defence denied all charges weighing on their clients.