Lawyers optimistic about the release of former KLA leaders
Experts in justice issues are optimistic about an acquittal in the case of the former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army, as the Special Court in The Hague has received the final files from the prosecution, the victims' lawyer and the defense teams of Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selim and Jakup Krasniqi, reports Ekonomia Online.
According to the procedure, the parties' closing arguments are expected to be held from February 9 to 18, after which the trial will be considered officially closed. The four defendants have been in custody in The Hague since November 2020. Lawyer Ardian Bajraktari said that this phase is crucial for the trial and that, according to him, the defense evidence has been relevant.
"Of course, after the dates for the parties' closing statements are made public. The panel has previously set a deadline within which the parties were required to submit written versions of their statements, an action they have already taken, and the closing statements will be made from February 9 to 18, which is actually the last phase where the parties can present their views on the charges and of course the counter-arguments that the defense will make. What is important to emphasize is that this is an extremely important phase where the parties, with special emphasis on the defense, must focus on the elegance of the evidence and the credibility of the statements, with special emphasis on the witnesses. In this regard, I assess that the defense witnesses were relevant and extremely prepared, many people involved in this process, which makes them eyewitnesses to what, in my opinion, their statements not only served the defense, but above all, they served the "The truth has been established, what was known from the beginning, the fact that the Kosovo Liberation Army did not have a proper command hierarchy structure and did not have the possibility of effectively exercising control, as two of the essential elements to establish command responsibility for which the KLA four are facing these accusations," he said.
He added that, according to him, the prosecution has failed to substantiate the claims.
"As far as we have seen so far, of course, in my opinion, the prosecution's theses regarding what it actually claims have not been able to be argued, and the testimonies of the witnesses, but also the other documents that accompanied the statements of the defense witnesses, such as reports of the American administration, but also other very relevant documents of the time, have confirmed what the prosecution's theses have not been able to argue regarding the issue of the existence of a structure and hierarchy. Moreover, in more than a few cases, we have seen the defense witnesses with particular emphasis present their difficulties regarding the manner of communication with people in the KLA, which clearly proves that there was no command structure or hierarchy. It is worth emphasizing the fact that after the conclusion of the closing statements, the presiding judge declares the process closed and after this, the trial panel has a three-month deadline with the possibility of an additional two months to review the entire file and make a decision, and in my opinion, with as much as we have seen, I believe that it will "It should be an acquittal and reconfirming decision that the KLA did not commit crimes, did not intend to commit crimes, did not have a structure or hierarchy, for which of course I am optimistic that by June, eventually by July of this year, we will have the epilogue in the first instance of this matter," he said.
Bajraktari also spoke about violations during the process.
"It has been a protracted process with quite serious violations, starting from the pronounced lack of transparency, which has resulted in the violation of essential elements for a fair trial, such as the issue of the principle of publicity in the procedure. Then of course we have also seen evidence that in many cases has been unreliable and unreliable, but moreover, in my opinion, it has been taken in contradiction with the provisions of the rules of evidence. Then we have also seen an unbalanced approach in relation to the parties as far as the trial panel is concerned. Moreover, one of the major violations and in continuity has been the measure of detention as the harshest measure to ensure the presence of the defendant in the procedure. This measure, in my opinion, has been disproportionate in the case, not earlier than at least the beginning of April of the year that goes to the time when the list of prosecution witnesses was finished hearing. Then we have also seen evidence and witnesses who have exaggerated, at least one of them has publicly admitted that he has exaggerated more than he has experienced. "We have also seen a witness from the Serbian community from the Rahovec region who admitted out loud the statements that were heard, but she never said them. All of this makes a process that, in my opinion, has been accompanied by continuous and not infrequent violations, but nevertheless I am optimistic that the end of the process will result in success," he said.
Meanwhile, lawyer Arbër Jashari expressed more reservations about predictions, but said that according to him, the indictment has not been proven.
"I think it is not serious and no one knows how a trial will end. People can speak based on their desires and they can be subjective, but still, as a professional, I am convinced that from what we have seen throughout the main hearing, not a single point of the indictment has been proven. But still, it remains to be seen until the end of the trial, because there were many things that the court did not broadcast as a result of the closed sessions due to the preservation of the identity of the witnesses," he said.
Jashari added that there are concerns about the court's subjective approach.
"What scares me the most is that this court can be subjective, that is, despite the fact that in our professional view, none of the charges against any of the accused have been proven. The court's reactions have time and again led me to believe that it could be subjective and biased, which constitutes a real fear for the end of the process. But if there were justice and if the highest standards of fairness of the trial were applied, then I believe that there would be an acquittal for all the accused," he said.
