The detention of Thaci, Kilajt, Fazlius and Smajt continues

So it was announced by Specialised Chambers spokeswoman in The Hague Angela Greep, at a weekly conference Thursday, reports “Justice Battle“ Periscope.

Also, Greep said that in the trial process towards Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veselin, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi, there were significant developments during March and April, where he stressed that on March 26th, the court approved the prosecution's request to allow a witness to testify through the video connection for health and security reasons -- a decision made public on April 4th.

The spokeswoman added that on April 3rd, the same court approved the prosecution's request to accept a witness's written statement as evidence, without being questioned by the other side, after being considered a relevant statement and supported by other witnesses who have been questioned by the defence, stressing that the declaration is not directly related to the behaviour of the accused.

She also said that in this court process, the court partially accepted the written evidence and material evidence of seven other witnesses, praising only those that were authentic and supportive. He said evidence with lack of support was rejected.

A day later, on April 4th, Greep stressed that the Court partially accepted some documents of the Nerodime Operative Zone, viewing as valid evidence only those with sufficient authenticity indicators.

DPS spokeswoman also cited Hashim Thaci's visit, which took place for humanitarian reasons following his father's death. He said this decision was taken in view of charges against Thaci of obstructing justice and risk of interference in the judicial process.

Meanwhile, according to her, on April 3rd, on the issue divided for obstructing justice administration, the Appeals Panel rejected three out of four prosecutorial appeals points, but approved the fourth point, stating that the third form of promotion under the Kosovo Criminal Code is applicable. This case has returned to the court's preliminary procedure for possible re-evaluation of an additional charge.

At the conference, Greep has said that on 7 April, the Union's Smajt protection request for the dismissal of the procedure against him was rejected. This request was based on an interview of a witness delivered after confirming the indictment. The judge found that the indictment against Smajt was based on several factors, and the presence of the interview would not have changed the decision.

Meanwhile, in the case of Salih Mustaf, she said a September 2024 decision concerning compensation for the victims was made public on April 3rd. The sole judge decided that the amount rejected by a victim would be proportionally divided among other victims, respecting the maximum limits set for individual payments.

A conference on the performance of the key issue, Greep said it is scheduled to be held on April 23, 2025, at 10:00, where the next steps in the process are expected to be discussed.

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.