The Acting Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, has reacted to the 5-year anniversary of the fact that the former leaders of the KLA, Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi, have been arrested and are in custody in The Hague.
Kurti said that there are no longer any legal or moral reasons to keep the arrested, adding that the Prosecutor’s Office has completed its investigations and there are no more witnesses.
“Immediately after he had put fresh flowers on the grave of Astri Dehari, on November 5, 2020, Rexhep Selim was sent to the prison in The Hague where he is still being held. In addition to him, Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli and Jakup Krasniqi have been in custody for five years now. Five years of waiting, five years behind bars while the same reason is repeated in every decision to refuse release: “the risk of influence on the witnesses”.
But the Prosecutor’s Office has completed its case. There are no more witnesses. There is no legal or moral reason to keep them in detention any longer. I’ve thought so since day one. We have worked long and dedicatedly on this matter, in silence, because good work is often done without noise. But sometimes the work that is not seen, is not known. As the Chairman of the Movement VETËVENDOSJE! and as a deputy since 2014, together with Rexha, we presented all the arguments and positions to this Court that is judging today”, writes Kurti on Facebook.
Kurti emphasized that from the first day he requested their release and sent letters to the Hague authorities, but the response did not change the situation. Kurti called for the former leaders of the KLA to return to their homes, near their families, and continue to defend Kosovo’s liberation war in freedom.
“And as the Prime Minister, my office and I have requested their release from the beginning. I am attaching below the letter that was sent directly to Mrs. Trandafilova regarding this matter in September of 2022. I am making it public today for a single reason: because I believe it is right for them to return to their homes, be near their families, and defend in freedom the just liberation struggle of Kosovo. Mrs. Trandafilova’s response after two weeks after receiving the letter from me, nothing has changed. Our requests still stand, and in Kosovo there are all guarantees for a positive response to them”, he writes.
