One of the Criminal Offenses Is Time-Barred, Indictment Against Xhelal Sveçla Amended

Xhelal Sveçla’s defense has waived the questioning of the defendant in the trial concerning the tear gas case, while his statements will be presented during the closing arguments.

Following the defense’s proposal, lawyer Luar Prenaj presented the closing arguments. He said that, after consulting with Sveçla, the defense would not exercise its right to have him make a statement and be questioned, explaining that the defendant’s position would be included in the closing arguments.

After the judicial review was concluded and the evidence was administered, prosecutor Avni Namani announced that the Prosecution had amended the operative part of the indictment against Sveçla.

The amended version of the indictment states that on March 21, 2018, between 12:10 p.m. and 3:40 p.m., in the plenary chamber of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, during an extraordinary plenary session, Xhelal Sveçla allegedly used a tear gas canister containing the chemical agent CS.

According to the Prosecution’s allegations, the canister was activated by Sveçla on several occasions and was then thrown inside the Assembly chamber, without warning and without giving those present an opportunity to leave.

The indictment links the spread of the irritant gas to the enclosed spaces of the chamber, where those present, fearing for their health and safety, were forced to leave. As a result, the session was interrupted.

Prosecutor Namani announced that Sveçla is charged with the criminal offense of “Use of a weapon or dangerous instrument,” provided for under Article 375, paragraph 2, of the 2012 Criminal Code.

Meanwhile, the Prosecution has dropped the criminal case concerning the offense of “Obstructing an official person in the performance of official duties,” because the statute of limitations for this offense has expired.

The amendments did not affect the remainder of the indictment, which has remained unchanged.

Following this amendment, the trial continued with the parties presenting their closing arguments.

In addition to Sveçla, those charged in the case include the acting Minister of Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure, Fitore Pacolli-Dalipi; former Vetëvendosje MP Salih Zyba; and former Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) MP Drita Millaku.

However, acting Minister of Internal Affairs Xhelal Sveçla was not present at the hearing on January 16, 2026. He informed the court by email that he was abroad, so the Court decided to sever the criminal proceedings against him.

At the hearing on April 10, 2026, Sveçla pleaded not guilty to the criminal offense with which he is charged.

The indictment against Sveçla, Millaku, Zyba and Pacolli-Dalipi was confirmed by the Basic Court in Pristina on June 6, 2024. All four were suspected of throwing tear gas in the Assembly during March 2018. The Basic Court’s decision was later upheld by the Court of Appeals.

At the initial hearing, held on March 26, 2024, all the defendants pleaded not guilty to throwing tear gas in the Assembly.

Sveçla, Millaku, Zyba and Pacolli-Dalipi had also been charged with the offense of “Obstructing an official person in the performance of official duties.” For this offense, the trial judge, Sabit Sadikaj, announced at the initial hearing that the absolute limitation period for criminal prosecution had expired.

According to the indictment obtained by “Betimi për Drejtësi,” filed on July 29, 2019, the defendants allegedly, on March 21, 2018, from approximately 12:10 p.m. until 3:40 p.m., activated several tear gas canisters and threw them inside the Kosovo Assembly chamber, where the plenary session was being held.

The indictment states that, as a result of this action, all MPs were forced to leave the Assembly chamber, making it impossible for the session to continue.

For this action, each of them is charged separately with the criminal offense of “Use of a weapon or dangerous instrument,” under Article 375, paragraph 1, of the Criminal Code. The offense carries a prison sentence of one to eight years.

The second operative section of the indictment states that the defendants, each separately, committed the offense of “Obstructing an official person in the performance of official duties,” under Article 409, paragraph 1, of the Criminal Code, by obstructing Kosovo Assembly MPs in the exercise of their official duties. This offense carries a prison sentence of three months to three years.