The court imposes KDR on Turkey to pay Limaj over 57 thousand euros for unjust stay in detention and house arrest

Likewise, the KDR is obliged to pay Limat 2 thousand and 48 euros on behalf of the procedure's spending, reports the “Justice Trust“, broadcast Periscope

Initially, through lawyer Tahir Rrecaj, Social Democrat Initiative Chairman Fatmir Limaj had filed charges on July 13th 2017 with the object of countering material and unmatial damage compensation.

According to the ruling, in the indictment plaintiff Limaj has stated that due to the implementation of the unfair criminal procedure against him, he has illegally kept 85 days in custody (from November 24th 2012 to March 8, 2013) and in house arrest 384 days.

Therefore, on January 26, 2016, the plaintiff Limaj is said to have turned to the KDR indictee, respectively, the commission to compensate for the damage to unreasonable persons and people deprived of freedom, with the demand for compensation of material and non-matial damage, but that no agreement had been reached.

According to the decision, Limaj has stressed that because of his lack of legal standing in house arrest and detention, he has suffered material damage in the form of paying off expenses for lawyers for criminal protection. It says that engagement of up to three defence lawyers is the right of each indicted person.

Furthermore, Limaj reportedly stressed that he has suffered material damage as a consequence of the commitment of two lawyers, including the international lawyer from the United Kingdom, at his own personal expense, during a complex and unfair criminal war crimes process, in which he was acquitted.

Moreover, the decision reportedly stressed that plaintiff Limaj has suffered considerable unmaterial damage, including damage to reputation, spiritual suffering and emotional pain, which deepened even more with the death of his wife during the detention and detention period, which lasted 469 days (house arrest and detention).

It says that the protracted process on all scales of trial has contributed to the severe decline in image and political position of the plaintiff, which was said to have confirmed even with election results before and after those events.

According to the indictment that Limaj has exercised, through his lawyer, clarifying the issue of defence committed in the concrete case, points out that the investigative material was extremely dynamic, including about 87 files, where three months were lost for selection and selection of relevant evidence, reducing to 19 important files on the criminal case.

Also, plaintiff Limaj has suggested that over the past 13 years, he has faced three counts of war crimes, in The Hague Tribunal trials, in the EULEX case, and in the case of Bellanica, where he has been acquitted.

In addition, Limaj has added that, in addition, two criminal procedures regarding the MTPH 1 and 2, for which he has also been acquitted.

So with these processes, Limaj has suggested that he is subjected to unjust judicial processes, causing great material and non-material damage, including reputation damage.

“These intensible facts prove that the plaintiff has been subjected to unjust judicial processes, which have caused considerable material and non- material damage, including reputation damage, spiritual pain and suffering for him and his family”, the decision says, adding that it has been damaged for other expenses.

According to the decision, the KDR in its response has stressed that it does not contest the basis for compensation for material and non-mamaterial damage, but only the height of damages due to staying in custody and house arrest, while the rest of the application differs as largely unbased.

The KDR, according to the decision, has offered Limaj compensation for staying in custody of a thousand and 425 euros and for house arrest amounting to 5 thousand and 760 euros.

“has added that the indictee has offered the plaintiff a bid for extra-trial draw by offering compensation for staying in detention at many of the 1,425 euros and for staying in house arrest at many of the 5,760 euros”, it is said further in the first degree decision.

The indictee KRK has demanded from the Court that 717 thousand and 37 euro and 37 cents be refused, arguing that the costs set for the lawyer are toll money and that they don't get much in question.

Afterwards, the Court after the evidence management has found it to be no contradiction to the fact that the plaintiff Limaj was charged by the Special Prosecutor of the Republic of Kosovo for criminal acts: “War crimes against the civilian population and war captives” and <x2 war crimes against war captives”.

The meeting, according to the Court, was neither the fact that the plaintiff had remained under detention for a total of 104 days and that from November 24, 2012, to March 8, 2013, as well as under the measure of house arrest for a total of 384 days. And that it was not contradictory among the parties that the fact of staying in custody for the upper period is also confirmed by the confirmation of March 8, 2013, issued by the Ministry of Justice, the Kosovo Correcting Service.

But, according to the Foundation's decision, conflicting between the interjudiced parties was the height of compensation for material and non-matial damage to the plaintiff, and also the basis for the prosecution's request for compensation for material damage in proportion to its expenses for defence attorneys during the development of criminal procedure.

Always under the verdict, the District Court with the decision of May 2, 2012, had declared a free trial against Limaj, who was charged with <x0... war crimes against the civilian population and prisoners of war” and “War crimes against war captives”. With the Constitutional Court Act in Pristina on 17 September 2013, following the criminal procedure in the retrial, the plaintiff had again been acquitted of all points of the indictment. Apel, also on January 26, 2016, had confirmed the act of foundation. On May 12, 2017, however, the Supreme Court had refused a plea for protection of legitimacy against the act of Apel.

According to the Court, the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, at Article 29, its paragraph 5 has regulated that: Anyone who has been forbidden or arrested in defiance of the provisions of this article enjoys the right to pay compensation in a lawful way.

In its ruling, the Court has mentioned the case of Vasilevski and Bogdanov against Russia (2018), in terms of compensating unreasonable persons, where it has indicated that the task of weighing the damage to the person in compensation is difficult, especially when dealing with a case when personal rights are expressed, as well as suffering, physical or mental, is the object of the demand for compensation.

Also, that decision is said to have been recorded by the GEDNJ that there is no standard with which spiritual pain, psychological concern and anxiety can be measured in an exact measurable countervalue of money.

The Constitutional Court in Pristina has further noted that the right to compensate unjustly detained persons is adjusted to the Kosovo Criminal Procedure Code.

It says the plaintiff Limaj has demanded compensation of damage from the bases: a) non-matial damage in the name of spiritual pain due to violation of authority, honor, freedom, personality rights; b) compensation for material damage to defence lawyers during the development of criminal procedure and c) expenses for food packages during the time of stay in custody.

The court has found that compensation for non-matial damage is the established legal principle that those charged under the accusation, who, during the development of the procedure, have been deprived of freedom, are entitled to a right to compensation due to freedom without cause.

Thus, the Court has appointed compensation on behalf of the unmatophary damage for 104 days of staying in detention and 384 days of staying in home arrest, in the amount of 100 euros per day, and in the total, in the name of non-matial damage amounting to 48 thousand and 800 euros.

The amount for non-matial damage, this Court has said it has determined according to free obedience, with criteria and measures imposed by judicial practices related to the extent of material and non-material damage, as well as the leadership of the Supreme Court of Kosovo.

For material damage, the Court has partially approved the plaintiff's request for compensation for the expenditures it has made due to the commitment of its defence lawyers during the development of the criminal procedure. So he's charged the KRC to pay 6 thousand and 216 euros.

Also, the indictee owes that the plaintiffs on behalf of the food package during his stay in custody to pay 150 euros, which is due to the fact that this amount of plaintiff has been confirmed by the accused side in the case of offering an extra-trial deal on behalf of a food package.

Meanwhile, the court has refused to pay the amount of 2,951,,200 euros as non-matial damage, with the reason that approval beyond the amount of over 48 thousand euros would not be in line with the violated good.

As for the request for compensation for the material damage, the Court has also rejected the amount of 710.433.37 euros, since according to the tribunal's assessment, the plaintiff has not argued that judicial grounds for compensation of this amount of requirement in terms of compensation for material damage.

According to the Foundation, the international lawyer's commitment on the part of Limaj has been in his best interest, but his commitment at the price of representation far higher than those defined by Kosovo's lawyers' tariff regulations can have no consequences for the deviance of responsibility to the indictee for compensation of the total amount the plaintiff has paid for the defender, while in Kosovo there has been regulations regulating the prices of representation of defence lawyers.

The court has refused the 900-euro sum for compensation for food packages related to the time of detention, with the argument that these expenses have not been argued.

At the end of the verdict, the Court has clarified that plaintiffs Limaj will be paid the amount approved with the legal interest of 8% from the day of taking the plea on June 2025 to the definitive fulfillment of non-matial damage, while for that material of 8% from the preamble of the indictment on July 13th 2017 until the definative payment.

On behalf of the cost of the conflict procedure, the Foundation imposed the indictment on the plaintiff to compensate for two thousand and 48 euros and eight cents.

The amount of compensation, including legal interest, will be paid after the decision becomes powerful.

In the end, the Court has recognised the right to appeal to disgruntled parties in the 15-day term after the parties make the decision in written form.