Thaçi's lawyer-judges: The SPO had no response, it is the prosecution that does not want you to do your job
Former President Hashim Thaçi's lawyer, Luka Misetic, said that the Special Prosecutor's Office on Monday was unable to present substantial defense arguments, and he also addressed the trial panel, telling them that it is the specialized prosecutors who want the judges of the Special Court not to do their job, but to find evidence that the Special Prosecutor's Office itself failed to find.
“And since they were unable to present substantive defense arguments after that, the SPO knows the conclusion of their rebuttals on Monday, claiming that the defense doesn’t want you to do your job, you and the judges. On the contrary, I know that you will do your job and accept the consensus, that is, the acceptance that the evidence that you have, we have described before you. In fact, it is the prosecution that doesn’t want you to do your job. They want you to do their job; they want you to find evidence that they failed to find. Last Wednesday, you heard Thaçi’s defense, which made several submissions that deal with fundamental aspects of the trial, which involve soldiers and legal leaders, which involve political and military leaders. We told you that there is no report from the perpetrators of crimes about Hashim Thaçi, we told you that there is no credible evidence that Hashim Thaçi had a role in the preparation and distribution of political communiqués or statements. We told you that The SPO does not provide you with any rational and logical explanation for how the members of the KLA allegedly conveyed the common criminal intent through communiqués, if the KLA had had a functioning chain of command. We told you that the consensus of the evidence of international witnesses and within the KLA was that Hashim Thaçi was not suspected of being involved in war crimes and is not suspected of being involved in any alleged policy targeting so-called opponents,” he said.
He emphasized that although the SPO had 45 minutes at their disposal, they had no counterarguments to the defendant's statements.
"The SPO on Monday had no rebuttal or arguments to refute these fundamental points. They had no answers. It's not that they didn't have time to address the important points; they still had 45 minutes available when they finished their rebuttals, but they didn't. They had no answers. And since after that they were unable to present substantive defense arguments, the SPO knows the conclusion of their rebuttal on Monday, claiming that the defense doesn't want you to do your job, you and the judges. On the contrary, I know that you will do your job and accept the consensus, that is, the acceptance that the evidence that you have, we have described before you. In fact, it is the prosecution that doesn't want you to do your job. They want you to do their job; they want you to find evidence that they failed to find," the lawyer emphasized.
