Former President Hashim Thaci will have the case today (September 15) to hear a witness in the case of Hague, charged with war crimes he and other senior Kosovo officials are alleged to have committed in the late 1990s.
The day witness, the former US Secretary of State in 1997-2000, James Rubin, appeared at the Special Court at the planned hearing at 9:00. Representatives of the US government also entered the courtroom to accompany the witness.
Former President Hashim Thaci’s main lawyer said the witness was a senior messenger of the Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright and involved in the works in Rambouillet with Albanian representatives on the peace agreement between Kosovo and Yugoslavia.
“I do not want to get into the details of the testimony of (James Rubin). He will do it himself, but this is a chance to hear the truth about what happened and who were those responsible. I think if the specialized rooms go after the truth we will have a fair verdict, which will show that my client is not guilty,”Said former President Thaci’s lawyer, Pierre Richard Prosper, before entering the Special Court building.
Rubin is one of the nearly twelve witnesses who will call Thaci’s defense, which will also present new evidence. Further, for the rehearsals and witnesses, former Kosovo Parliament Parliamentari, Jakup Krasniqi, with his four witnesses, will be to continue with the defensive teams of former parliamentarian Kadri Veseli and the former MP of Vetevendosje Movement. Rexhep Selimi.
The litigation against former Kosovo Liberation Armys began in April 2023. The indictment against them is that they have committed crimes against humanity and war crimes, including the killing of more than 100 people, as well as the detention and torture of many others when the country fought against the Yugoslav army.
The Specialist Prosecutor, for his part, has called more than 100 witnesses during this period and presented about 3,000 material evidence.
The day before, Albanians from different parts of the world, with the support of the KLA War Veterans Organization, gathered at the Hague Court building in support of former KLA leaders, holding placards in their hands, with patriotic songs, military motifs and calls for justice.
