The Specialist Prosecutor’s Office (SPO) requested that the former president of Kosovo be declared guilty and sentenced to six years in prison in the obstruction of justice case at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague.
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This request was addressed to the single judge in the case, Christopher Gosnell, by specialist prosecutor Joshua Hafetz at the end of his closing argument.
The prosecution said that if Thaçi is found guilty, the sentence for this case would be served “in continuation of any other sentence that will be handed down in Case 6, if it is handed down.”
For the other defendants in this case, the prosecution requested that they all be found guilty and sentenced to prison.
The prosecution requested that Hajredin Kuçi be sentenced to nine months in prison, while Fadil Fazliu, Isni Kilaj, and Bashkim Smakaj be sentenced to three years in prison each.
“The charges that the SPO has brought and proven are crimes. The attempt to interfere with and obstruct the judicial process in this court represents a threat to the proper administration of justice,” prosecutor Hafetz said.
At the first hearing of the closing statements, only Thaçi is present in the courtroom, while the other defendants are following the session via video link.
The defense and the prosecutors will have three days to present their closing arguments in this case, which is linked to the trial against Thaçi and three other former KLA leaders.
After the prosecution, it is the turn of Thaçi’s defense.
Closing arguments will be held today, tomorrow, and Monday, September 14. Two days after the closing statements conclude, Thaçi, along with Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi, and Rexhep Selimi, will appear before the trial panel to face the verdict for war crimes during the 1998-99 war in Kosovo. For each of them, the prosecution has requested 45 years in prison. All four have denied all charges.
Prosecution: Recordings and documents confirm efforts to influence witnesses
Specialist prosecutor Kimberly West, at the start of the SPO’s closing argument, said that Thaçi and the other co-defendants for months attempted to influence the testimony of witnesses for the war crimes and crimes against humanity trial.
“Together with his collaborators in this process, he tried to obstruct this process by interfering with the testimony of these witnesses, and he was caught. He was caught through many hours of recordings and documents that confirm the recordings in question,” she said.
West described Thaçi’s other co-defendants as his collaborators, devoted friends, loyalists, and former subordinates, who, according to her, Thaçi instructed “to target witnesses whose testimony, in his view, was crucial to the war crimes trial.”
West claimed that the instructions were diverse, from requests to change testimony, to whether Thaçi should be placed or not placed at any location where crimes were allegedly committed.
According to her, by creating small groups, Thaçi instructed the co-defendants on how to align the witnesses’ testimony with “his narrative.”
The prosecutor said that the testimonies were printed at the detention center and discussed during visits there.
She also claimed that Thaçi had discussed with the other defendants the KLA hierarchy and how witnesses, through their testimony, as she said, could diminish his command role.
Prosecution replays portions of recordings
Afterwards, specialist prosecutor Joshua Hafetz presented excerpts of recordings between Thaçi and the other co-defendants, accusing the defense of trying to “sidestep” the evidence, which, according to him, carries great weight.
Hafetz said that parts that were not clearly heard were not used by the prosecution, while adding that Thaçi whispered during the instructions.
In the courtroom, portions of conversations between Thaçi and Fazliu regarding the testimony of Rrustem Mustafa – Remi were shown. The prosecution alleges that Thaçi, through Fazliu and his son, instructed Mustafa on how to testify a few days later in The Hague in Case No. 6 – for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The prosecution also said that just one day after Thaçi’s instruction, Fazliu returned to Kosovo and contacted Mustafa, through his son Fahri Fazliu, and a few days later informed Thaçi about the conversation, and Thaçi instructed him again regarding Mustafa’s testimony.
“He can’t go twelve hours without slipping up somewhere. Tell him briefly, ‘yes’, ‘no’. He knows the statements well, but he might slip because it’s long. Tell him to shorten them,” Thaçi can be heard telling Fazliu in the recording played in court.
Prosecutor Hafetz claimed that during Fazliu’s visits to the detention center in The Hague, Thaçi also disclosed confidential information, namely he identified a piece of evidence about which Mustafa would be questioned during his testimony and a book about which prosecutors would ask him. According to the prosecutor, Thaçi gave instructions on how Mustafa should testify.
The prosecutor also mentioned a visit of Hajredin Kuçi with Thaçi in The Hague, at the time when Kuçi was part of Veseli’s defense.
He said that Kuçi contacted Mustafa via message, knowing that it is prohibited to contact witnesses without prior authorization from the court.
The prosecution said that by doing so, Kuçi did not comply with the court.
Indeed, to describe the close relationship that, according to the prosecution, exists between Thaçi and Kuçi, during the visit in The Hague, the prosecution said that Kuçi referred to Thaçi 90 times with the word “boss,” while Thaçi called him “Hajro” more than 50 times.
The prosecution alleges that Thaçi targeted three witnesses through Kuçi: two former members of the KLA and one alleged victim of KLA members.
“The targeting of witnesses was so that he [Thaçi] could prepare his preferred narrative that he did not have criminal liability for the acts presented in Case 6,” prosecutor Hafetz said.
Hafetz said that one of the targeted witnesses was Sylejman Selimi, also known as witness number 5.
According to the prosecutor, during the meeting of September 3, 2023, Thaçi instructed Kuçi to have Selimi say that the commanders of the KLA zones had sole authority.
“Tell him that the satellite phone was brought to him by the diaspora… [Adem] Demaçi made some regulations,” Thaçi can be heard whispering in the recording played in the courtroom.
With Kuçi, they also discussed the book about which Mustafa would be questioned and, according to the prosecution, through Kuçi, Thaçi sent instructions on how Selimi should testify.
The other witness, whom according to the prosecution Thaçi instructed Kuçi on how to testify, was Bislim Zyrapi, known as witness number 2.
According to the prosecuting body, in the recordings, Thaçi demanded that Zyrapi change his testimony – after he had previously presented him as an authority over the General Staff – and say that he, Thaçi, and other persons, including Veseli, became members of the KLA General Staff in November 1998.
“Thaçi needs to provide precise answers about the structure of the General Staff to minimize his criminal liability before November ’98,” the prosecutor said.
As for the third witness, he was identified only as witness 6, since he is a protected witness. The prosecutor said he could not publicly provide details about him, but Thaçi’s instructions, according to him, were that he avoid being directly implicated by this witness in any crime.
The prosecution then went on with Kilaj’s involvement in this case. The prosecutor said that Kilaj first visited Thaçi in February 2023 – a few days after Thaçi had received the identities of protected witnesses.
Other persons were also present during the visit. The prosecution alleges that at that meeting Thaçi instructed Kilaj on how the witnesses should testify. Specifically, it concerns protected witness number 4.
Later, Kilaj visited Thaçi again in October, when according to the prosecution, Thaçi gave him the witness’s testimony and asked him precisely what to change.
In the recordings, according to the prosecution, Thaçi demands that part six, page seven, and line 9 must be corrected.
The witness, according to the prosecution, had implicated Thaçi in alleged mistreatment.
Materials of the witness’s testimony and confidential materials, the prosecution said, were found in Kilaj’s possession, along with instructions on how he should testify.
At the end of the closing argument, the prosecution spoke about the involvement of Bashkim Smakaj in this case.
According to the prosecution, he was instructed by Thaçi on how Bislim Zyrapi should testify.
The prosecution said that a confidential document was also found in Smakaj’s personal car, which it alleged he received from the detention center in The Hague from Thaçi.
Furthermore, the SPO said that Smakaj had met and communicated with Zyrapi after the visit to The Hague.
The prosecutor said that the recordings show the pattern followed by Thaçi, seeking that Zyrapi be asked to testify briefly and to respond “I don’t remember” or “I don’t know” to certain topics.
Charges for obstruction of justice
Thaçi, as well as Smakaj, Kilaj, Fazliu, and Kuçi, are accused that, between April and November 2023, they had influenced the testimony of witnesses called by the prosecutors for the war crimes trial against Thaçi himself and the other former KLA leaders.
Thaçi faces three charges of attempting to obstruct official persons in performing official duties and eight charges of violating the secrecy of proceedings and disobedience to the court.
Smakaj, Kilaj, and Fazliu each face one charge of attempting to obstruct official persons in performing official duties and one charge of disobedience to the court.
Meanwhile, Kuçi faces two charges of disobedience to the court.
All five have pleaded not guilty.
The trial against them began on February 27, while on March 13, the prosecution concluded the presentation of evidence.
If Thaçi is acquitted of war crimes, will he be released immediately?
In Kosovo, questions have been raised whether the former president can immediately return to the country, if the court acquits him of the charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
According to the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the Specialist Chambers, “when a detained accused is found not guilty, he shall be released immediately, unless he is lawfully held in detention, or is serving a sentence for criminal offences different from those for which he was acquitted.”
“In the case of Mr. Thaçi, the detention was ordered by the trial panel in the proceedings against him for war crimes and crimes against humanity, as well as by the single judge in the separate proceedings against him for obstruction of justice. Therefore, if Mr. Thaçi is found not guilty in the proceedings for war crimes and crimes against humanity, the question of whether he will continue to be kept in detention will be decided by the single judge who is examining the obstruction of justice case,” the spokesperson of the Specialist Chambers, Michael Doyle, had told Radio Free Europe in August.
The single judge must review every two months whether detention remains justified.
“He may also review this matter upon request of the accused, if there has been a change of circumstances,” Doyle added.
The latest decision, the tenth in a row for the continuation of detention, was issued by the single judge on July 31, assessing that there still exists a risk that Thaçi may obstruct the proceedings or commit other criminal offenses.
In the same decision, the judge also set deadlines for the next review of detention: Thaçi may file his submissions by September 7. If he does not do so, the prosecution must present its position by September 14, while Thaçi may respond by September 21.
Thaçi has been in the detention center in The Hague since November 2020, when he was arrested on war crimes charges.
Since then, all of Thaçi’s defense submissions for release from detention have been rejected. In fact, even a bail of 50,000 euros, together with several conditions that Thaçi pledged to respect in exchange for release, was not accepted.
War crimes charges
Thaçi, Veseli, Krasniqi, and Selimi are accused of offenses such as murder, torture, and persecution, allegedly committed during the years 1998-’99 during the war for Kosovo’s independence from Serbia.
All four have denied these charges and have pleaded not guilty to charges involving around 155 victims.
The prosecutors have requested that they be found guilty and each sentenced to 45 years in prison for the alleged crimes.
Over 130 witnesses testified, while 160 statements of other witnesses were admitted in writing during the three years of hearings.
The trial against them concluded in February.
The Specialist Court is formally part of Kosovo’s judicial system but consists of international judges and prosecutors.
The trial against the former KLA leaders has encountered many objections in Kosovo, as it is seen as one-sided, since it does not include crimes committed by Serbs in the territory of Kosovo.
Since then, banners and large billboards have been placed across Kosovo with the message “Freedom has a name” and photos of the former KLA leaders.
There have also been protests against this process in The Hague, in Prishtina, and in other cities.
Thousands of citizens took part in the protest “Justice, not politics” on Kosovo’s Independence Day on February 17 this year in Prishtina, in support of Thaçi, Veseli, Selimi, and Krasniqi. / REL
