Lawyer from The Hague: Justice ministry turned its back on former KLA leaders in The Hague

Isni Kilajt's lawyer, Iain Edwards, has stated in an interview that the justice ministry in Kosovo has turned its back on former KLA members who have been in custody at The Hague for some time.

In these months, Iain Edwards is not at all satisfied with the support he has received from the Kosovo justice ministry.

That support has already disappeared. The justice ministry now clearly does not care for these veterans who are in custody at The Hague. The Ministry of Justice is not ready to support them,” said Iain Edwards .

Edwards' frustrations are linked with the new administrative directive of the justice ministry, which has dramatically reduced the payments for special-involved lawyers.

In the case of Kilajt, only one thousand euros of payment has been offered to the lawyer Edwards.

For me, it wouldn't be a problem to work for a thousand euros a month. But the problem is that I need to build a team, I have to create a system, I have to engage investigators, I have to engage other lawyers I have to cooperate with. So a thousand euros a month is shocking, it's embarrassing. I would call on the justice ministry to withdraw from this unfair decision and reverse the old scheme,”, Iain Edwards added to Radio Duguagjini.

Television has asked the justice ministry why such fees have been set, given the fact that the Kosovo Parliament itself has decided that this court will be deployed abroad, thus creating additional expenses for the accused, but has not accepted concrete answers.
Mr. Case Isni Kliet is still in the preliminary phase, the Specialised Prosecutor has not filed a case. Based on top-of-the-art Commission, the Commission has decided that for the phase of the preliminary procedure, it will propose to the defence 1,000.00 euros. Defence spending tariffs, in Administrative Guides, are defined in consultation with experts and are in the interest of the Republic of Kosovo”

In response, the ministry has clarified that the height of the payments is determined by certain circumstances, such as the nature of the charges, the alleged position of the suspect, or the accused in the political or military hierarchy, as well as the number of witnesses.

For similar criminal acts, we have seen that Gucati and Haradinaj have been sentenced to more than four years in prison. Anti-administration Acts are not the most serious cases of the Specialised Prosecutor's Office, but still difficult, complex and serious cases. I can't accept this sense of government. The government is turning its back on these veterans,” is the lawyer of Isni Kilaj.

The maximum amount the ministry has decided to pay for protecting an accused by the Special is 120 thousand euros per month.