The accused tells details from the moment of the murder in Peja

Kreshnik Haliti, accused of the murder of Mentor Zekaj last year in Peja, gave his defense before the trial panel today.

Before the jury, Haliti recounted the circumstances that led to the murder of Mentor Zekaj.

He said that he had known the deceased since before the war and that he had a friendly relationship with him.

The accused said that while he was working in the Municipal Assembly of Peja, Mentor Zekaj had asked him to help him with a problem with the property where his house was located.

Kreshnik Haliti emphasized that Zekaj had made this request to him in 2015.

"This is the reason why the whole incident started, why it has come to this point. I haven't been able to do it, he gave me 2.000 euros for expenses or something like that. He gave me 2.000 euros for that work so that I could get interested in the Municipality and see the possibilities of how the procedures for compensation for that property are going," he said.

The accused also said that Mentor Zekaj had asked him for help on two other occasions: one case to open a road in the mountains to the now deceased's house and a reconciliation with several people from the village of Novoselle, after a conflict that the Zekaj family had had.

Kreshnik Haliti said that he had carried out both of these tasks for Mentor Zekaj, but that he had not been able to resolve the issue of his property in the Municipality.

Haliti said that he had returned two of the 400 euros of the 2.000 euros debt to his wife's pharmacy, while he had not yet returned the 1.200 euros debt.

"When they reconciled with some cousins ​​who had been beaten, he told me: I owe you a lot for this kindness. I replied: no, I owe you 1.200 euros. He told me: come on, it's okay," the accused said.

Kreshnik Haliti also spoke about the critical day.

That day he said he spoke with Mentor Zekaj on the phone and they had arranged to meet in the afternoon.

After finishing his work schedule, the accused said that while he was going with some friends to drink coffee, he met Mentor Zekaj in the city center.

"Meanwhile, the deceased arrived in a car, opened the window and we talked in a friendly manner. I invited him for coffee, he said: No, do you want to get in the car and take a ride," said Kreshnik Haliti.

The latter emphasized that after he got into the car, according to him, he had not been in good physical condition.

"I said to him: What's the matter, you don't look well? He said: How can I be well when I have to deal with leaves," he said.

Further, the accused said that he had expected that after the car ride with Mentor Zekaj, he would return to the city center, but, according to him, Mentor Zekaj had headed towards the "Fidanishte" neighborhood.

"He told me that you and I haven't done any work. I told him what work we haven't done. He told me: we're going home and we'll talk there. I told him, talk about whatever you have to talk about. He said: you know very well that when I gave you that money, you had to do the work and you didn't do it, the work on the land of the house with the Municipality," he said.

Haliti said that Zekaj addressed him in a loud tone and then cursed him.

By the time they arrived in the "Fidanishte" neighborhood, the accused said that Zekaj had stopped the car and pulled out his pistol.

"There he started swearing. He told me: what's wrong with me? I told him: I didn't take this job and I'll do it at any cost, what did I say? He told me to shut up or I'll kill my mother, my family and my wife and he slapped me in the face. I instinctively pushed him harder with my hand. He braked and took out his gun. I don't know if he had it in his bag or in his belt, he pointed it twice in the direction of the car door where I was, and a bullet even fell," the accused explained to the court.

"Instinctively, I aimed at the gun he had in his hands and quickly turned it and it clicked. The gun was in his hand. It was a quick reflex. I only saw blood, I struggled and later I don't know what I did," said Kreshnik Haliti.

He said that after he was fleeing the scene, while he was in the village of Vitomirica, he said that he regained consciousness, where, according to him, he realized that he was driving the deceased's car and that his gun was in the passenger seat.

Halit said that he had left his car in Vitomirica, and that he had put the gun in a bag that he had taken in the car and had gone to his house in Novo Selo with a random taxi driver.

He said he had left the gun on a cupboard in his house, and later stressed that he had called his son-in-law and surrendered to the police a few hours later.

Debt dispute against the victim

Kreshnik Haliti disputed that he owed Mentor Zekaj 86 thousand euros, as the deceased's family members had stated during this court hearing.

A letter and a small diary, with amounts of money listed inside, said to have nothing to do with debts.

According to him, a letter mentioning several amounts related to the purchase of a piece of land that was expected to be privatized, and it mentioned the amounts of money that he could secure in the event of purchasing that property from the AKP together with a friend of his.

As for a small pad with notes and some numbers on the back of the paper, he said that they are kilowatt numbers and not euros.

The accused said that he had forgotten the letter that was found in the victim's pocket a long time ago at the deceased's bar and had forgotten it along with the cigarettes.

There were objections to Kreshnik Haliti's statement from the Zekaj family's defense attorney, Gëzim Kollçaku, and the deceased's family members.

The next session is expected to be held the day after tomorrow, where the parties are expected to give their final word. /Kallxo.com