Selimi's defence urges the prosecution not to influence witnesses during the preparation hearings

So became known by Angela Greep, spokesperson for Kosovo Specialised Chambers ( At the weekly conference in The Hague on Thursday.

Greep said the court's court had initially rejected Selimi's defence request for reducing some evidence in the previous statements of a witness when it was presented during the preparation hearing to give evidence.

The defense had argued that the relevant evidence was not on the material evidence list. Selimi's defence further demanded from the court to warn the prosecution not to influence the witness during the “preparation hearing, Greep said further, reports “The Justice Vow “.

The spokeswoman pointed out that the court recalled that the law requires that during a preparation session, the lawyer asking questions should give the witness the opportunity to review previous statements, even when parts of them do not have to deal with the evidence he will give.

This is done to provide witnesses with reasonable opportunities to get acquainted with their previous statements before beginning giving a witness. The court also found that given the fact that he had ruled out much of the proposed evidence of the witness, it was reasonable that the prosecution explained to the witness that there was still significant evidence he was allowed to give. The court concluded that this was done in a way that was not unreasonable or unjust”, she said further.

According to Greep, on September 13th the court has approved the SPS's request that a witness give a video connection witness.

She also added that based on recommendations from the Administrative Office, the court further ordered modification of the session schedule so that the witness could begin witnessing at 12: 00 a.m. on the first day and at 11: 00 a.m. on the following days.

To use the time in the courtroom effectively, the court ordered the prosecution to try to appoint spare witnesses for witnessing between 9:00 and 10:30 a.m.”, she said.

According to Greep, on the same day the court has approved the SPS's request, where it has been found that accepting statements as evidence and accompanying material evidence of 12 witnesses was appropriate after they were submitted to the court.

In addition, on this court issue, Greep announced that detention has been continued to Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi, as well as four witnesses called by the Prosecutor, as well as during this week.

The next session in this case is expected to be held on Monday (September 23rd 2024) at the usual time. In the case of Peter Shala, Greep announced that the Appeals Conference will be held tomorrow.

“During the hearing, the parties are expected to present prognosis, and the court will seek updates regarding the performance of translation of the court into Albanian. The manager had informed us that the non-final translation version would be delivered on September 6th and the final version at the end of October. The Specialised Chambers translate all the documents and publicly protocold statements into the three languages of the court: Albanian, Serbian and English, as soon as possible”, she said.

She also said that this team also held a roundtable of journalists in Pristina to update with information concerning judgments and to answer their questions.

Otherwise, Kosovo Specialised Chambers in The Hague every Thursday at 14:30, via online platform “Zoom” hold weekly information offering updated information on recent developments regarding judicial procedures and activities in this court.