The KLA War Veterans Organization held yesterday the next protest in Strasbourg in search of justice for the four former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army who are being tried in The Hague.
Lawyer Ardian Bajraktari, in a direct link from Kosovo with Andri Xhahu’s “Në Radio” show, said that these protests express indignation against an unfair and protracted process.
“The public opinion is extremely aware that this process is unfair and that the war of the KLA, its leaders, and even individually as there are some voices, is being judged there.”
Bajraktari estimates that these protests also have a message for the funding countries of the Hague Court.
“It is clear to the international opinion, with special emphasis on the countries funding the court, such as the countries of the European Union and beyond, that their taxpayers’ money is going to a court which is doing injustice”.
Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi, leading figures of the Kosovo Liberation Army, have been under arrest at the Special Court in The Hague for 5 years, while the trial against them started only in 2023.
“It has been 5 years that the former leaders of the KLA have been held in detention, while there are no legal conditions for their detention.”
According to the lawyer, the extension in time of the judicial process against the four former leaders of the KLA, has come from the lack of preparation of the Prosecutor’s Office in relation to international parameters.
“The witnesses were unreliable, they mostly said things irrelevant to the proceedings. From September onwards, when we saw the defense witnesses, they were reliable and dignified. In most cases, the evidence was accompanied by other documents, cables or various reports of the State Department that contributed to the truth. More than 25 years have passed and the declassification of the documents by the US has contributed not only to the defense but above all to the truth. The four former leaders of the KLA are accused of command responsibility, which in the circumstances of this case did not exist. That is why this case is ‘sui generis’, unprecedented.”
The KLA War Veterans Organization announced that it has submitted 285 letters on behalf of each member of the Council of Europe Assembly, with their concerns regarding the process at the Special Court.
“The institutions are doing the work they should be doing, which in relation to this process have been extremely indifferent. In quite a few cases there has been a significant lack of funds that reflects a lack of political will to properly handle this issue. Providing legal protection is a legal obligation, but ensuring the highest quality protection is a national obligation due to the fact that these people are not facing personal charges. Therefore, Kosovo politics has failed to fulfill its duty in relation to this extremely sensitive and important for the past, present and future”.
When asked who is behind the delay of the judicial process and who cares about this situation, the lawyer says: “The announcement of the arrest of Mr. Thaçi was raised when he was on his way to the USA, the fact that a significant part of the documents and evidence were taken by the Serbian state that has carried out genocide and violence in Kosovo and Bosnia, in my opinion raises reasonable suspicions that Serbian authorities are behind this process, perhaps and not only”.
The lawyer expresses full confidence that the process will be triumphant for the former leaders of the KLA.
“I am inclined to believe that the end of this process will be triumphant, reconfirming and liberating for the former leaders of the KLA. Even in the trials of Mr. Haradinaj and Mr. Limaj that took place in Kosovo by internationals, the non-existence of the structure, hierarchy, chain of command and the impossibility of exercising effective control has been clearly confirmed. I believe that they will be taken into account by the judging panel and the end of this process is coming. to be a reconfirmation of the purity of the war and release for the former leaders. Most likely we will be able to have the verdict in the first part of next year”.
