Former Democratic Party of Kosovo MP Dr. Shaip Muja has sent a letter to the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague, stating that after being questioned in 2019, he chose to remain silent publicly because he had been summoned as a suspect in connection with the allegations raised in the Dick Marty Report.
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Muja recalls that at the time he appeared without a defense lawyer, although he had been offered that option, and told investigators: “If you have evidence, arrest me, because I have nothing to fear.” He reaffirms his belief that the allegations of human organ trafficking made against him and other members of the Kosovo Liberation Army were untrue.
In his letter, the former MP strongly criticizes the way the allegations in the Dick Marty Report were turned into serious public accusations over the years. He adds that these accusations have had tangible consequences for him personally and for his family.
Muja openly declares that he stands behind Hashim Thaçi, Jakup Krasniqi, Kadri Veseli and Rexhep Selimi, strongly believing in their innocence. A particular concern in his letter is the length of the judicial process and the long period the accused have spent in detention, while he emphasizes that the final verdict must be based solely on evidence and the law.
According to him, the case of the four accused carries weight that goes beyond their personal fate, as the verdict could shape how Kosovo’s war is remembered and interpreted. He insists that the trial must be conducted independently of political beliefs and perceptions that have become entrenched over the years.
“Facts, the law and justice must be stronger than stigmatization, propaganda, politics and prejudice,” Dr. Shaip Muja concludes in the letter. In the document, he explains that his silence for so many years was not an admission of the accusations, but respect for an ongoing judicial process.
He describes the Dick Marty Report as a political document adopted by the Council of Europe which, in his view, generated major institutional and legal consequences, exposing certain people to public suspicion long before justice had its say. Muja also draws attention to the political context, mentioning Serbia’s interest in influencing the interpretation of the war and the role of the Kosovo Liberation Army, also using materials and allegations from Serbian sources.
He acknowledges that the origin of information does not automatically invalidate it as evidence, but insists that the context in which certain accusations were devised and disseminated cannot be ignored. Muja recounts that he has faced continuous defamation, with suspicion against him treated as an established fact, damaging him professionally, publicly and personally.
Although he does not deny anyone the right to think differently, he raises the question of what remains of the presumption of innocence when someone lives for nearly 16 years under the weight of an unproven public accusation. Muja reaffirms his pride in the Kosovo Liberation Army’s war and describes it as a liberation army, but adds that no one is above the law.
He warns that a possible conviction of the Kosovo Liberation Army’s main leaders would be used and interpreted as a judgment on the organization itself and the character of its war, bringing historical and political consequences beyond the individual legal ones. Nevertheless, he emphasizes that individual responsibility, if proven, cannot be turned into the responsibility of an entire organization or into a judgment on the war in Kosovo.
Muja emphasizes that Kosovo was not liberated on its own and that the role of NATO, the United States and European countries was decisive, adding that the Euro-Atlantic orientation remains a strategic choice for the state of Kosovo. He also recalls that the Kosovo Specialist Chambers themselves were established through Kosovo’s institutions and that the accused did not evade justice when they were summoned.
In the letter, he expresses concern about such a prolonged judicial process and about the years spent in detention by people who still enjoy the presumption of innocence. He adds that a court should not be influenced by questions about whether the accused will have a political role in the future.
Muja explains that his support for the accused is not a request for the court to share his belief, but that he hopes that, once the process is over, they will return freely to Kosovo. He insists that the final verdict must be shaped neither by his beliefs nor by those of people who declared them guilty beforehand, but solely by what has been proven in the courtroom.
He concludes the letter by saying that, for him, this story is not simply an abstract debate, but a part of his life with real costs, and that the only thing he asks is for the legal assessment not to be influenced by everything that has been said and written over the years.
