Denada Jushi
February 18 will be the last day of the trial in the Special Court against four former KLA leaders.
The trial of Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selim and Jakup Krasniqi began on April 3, 2023, while their detention and transfer to detention cells occurred in November 2020.
On February 9 of this year, the closing arguments of this trial began in the Specialist Chambers, marking the final phase. The prosecution, in concluding its arguments, requested that each be sentenced to 45 years in prison, for a total of 180 years.
In this process, the four leaders are accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including kidnapping, torture and murder. According to the contents of the indictment, although it has been amended several times, the one currently being tried describes that the crimes alleged were committed at least from March 1998 to September 1999, in several locations in Kosovo, as well as in Kukës and Cahan, in northern Albania.
These crimes are alleged to have been committed by members of the KLA against hundreds of civilians and persons not taking part in the fighting. The indictment alleges that Thaçi, Veseli, Selimi and Krasniqi bear individual criminal responsibility for crimes committed in the context of a non-international armed conflict in Kosovo and that they were part of a widespread and systematic attack against persons suspected of being against the KLA.
Meanwhile, the defense teams of Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selim and Jakup Krasniqi have requested that they be declared innocent of all counts of the indictment, stating that there is no evidence to support the claims of the Specialized Prosecutor's Office.
One of the highlights of this process was the testimony of September 15, when former US Assistant Secretary of State James Rubin was the first to open the defense's case for the former KLA commanders. After him, diplomat Christopher Hill took the witness stand, testifying for three consecutive days. The last of the American witnesses was the general who led the NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999, Wesley K. Clark.
During these three years, part of the process has been open and public, while another part has been conducted behind closed doors, without the opportunity to get acquainted with the witnesses or the prosecution's testimonies. During the last two weeks, the arguments of the Prosecution have also been confronted with those of the defense and vice versa.
Tomorrow, the panel of judges Charles Smith III (presiding), Christophe Barthe, Genël Metro and Fergal Gaynor (reserve judges) will retire and have three months, with the possibility of an extension due to the large volume of files, to announce the decision in this case. This is only the first instance, as both parties, the prosecution and the defense, have the right to appeal.
On February 17, 18 years ago, Kosovo's declaration of independence was read. Today, the four main exponents of that moment are facing justice. In Kosovo today, there was no celebration, but a protest, with the call for history not to be rewritten. To know whether history will change or not, we will have to wait until June of this year./acqj.al
