Evidence of 260 witnesses in the trial against former KLA leaders has been accepted so far

Of them, 262 are witnesses to the prosecution, and two of the victims' defenders follow. Periscope.

In a response to “Justice Vow”, the DPS Information Office has announced that in addition to 125 prosecution witnesses and two of the victims who testified in the courtroom, evidence of several other written witnesses has been accepted.

In response, another 137 written evidence has been accepted, which 83 belong to accession by being called to Rule 153. While 54 others have been accepted according to the 155 Rule of Procedure and Evidence.

“From 137 written evidence that has so far been accepted as judicial evidence, 83 have been accepted according to rule 153 and 54 have been accepted according to rule 155”, said DPS spokesman Michael Doyle.

According to procedure and evidence regulation, the rule of 153 envisions accepting written statements instead of physical evidence in the courtroom. This rule envisions, acceptance of written statements without a witness being presented in court to bear witness in case his testimony has nothing to do with the actions and conduct of the accused, of whom the indictment speaks.

As a rule, it shows other factors that can make an acceptable witness, such as when it is repetitive and covers the same facts as the witnesses who witnessed in the courtroom that has been the possibility of confrontation.

Rule 154 envisions accepting testimony from witnesses who witnessed in the courtroom and who had the opportunity to question the summoners, the opposing parties and the court.

So this rule envisions witnessing in the courtroom and has more to do with the accused's actions and behavior.

Meanwhile, the 155 rule envisions accepting those statements of people who are not available. According to this rule, people who have died are unable to testify because of their physical or mental condition or even those who have not testified because of illegal interventions such as threats or intimidation.

For a witness to be accepted according to this rule, however, certain conditions must be met, among other things, after reasonable efforts have been made to obtain the witness but failed.

Of the 125 prosecution witnesses who witnessed in the courtroom, most of them were on protective measures. 52 of the 125s testified at public hearings, while 73 were with protective measures.

Meanwhile, on April 15th 2025, the prosecution has announced that it has completed presenting evidence in the case. Among the witnesses who witnessed at the public hearing who were summoned by the Prosecutor in this case were Albanians, Serbs and internationals. On September 15, 2025, however, it is scheduled to begin hearing defence witnesses.

While, the defence had applied according to the 130th Rule, which envisions a request to drop any charges or charges altogether in the indictment. The decision on this requirement was made on 16 July 2025. According to the chairman of the panel, Charles Smith III, what he had sought protection was his failure to rely on war crimes claims involving incidents that occurred before May 1998 and after June 20, 1999.

The trial “Trug notes that incidents and events that have occurred at the time opposed by defence are not accusations within the understanding of the 130” rule, the chairman of the court, Charles Smith III, said.

As a result, this motion had been dropped with the reasoning that the court's authority is to bring down material that constitutes accusations involving time causes. While, the same day, the protection of the victims had presented its evidence, calling two expert witnesses to testify simultaneously.

In addition to testifying on July 16, 2025, the testimony of these two witnesses continued on July 17, 2025, ending the testimony of the victims' defense witnesses. Witnesses of the victims' defense were Karin Duhne-Prince and Dr. Catherine Nicole Black.

The Specialised Prosecutor's Office, on September 30th 2022, has handed over the confirmed amended indictment against Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veselini, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi, which consists of ten points on charges, where the latter are charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.

On April 29th 2022, the Specialised Prosecutor's Office had handed over a amended indictment to Hashim Thaci, Kadri Wessel, Rexhepi and Jakup Krasniqi, where four indictees have committed war crimes even in Gjilan, Budakov and Semtish.

On November 9th 2020, in their first appearances, Hashim Thaci's Jakup Krasniqi has been declared innocent of the charges placed on them. Wessel has also been declared in his presentation on November 10th, as has Rexhep Selimi on November 11th.

The incident against Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veselin, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi is confirmed on October 26, 2020.