The first witness against Salih Mustafa in The Hague said that he did not remember the day when he said that he was taken by some people who were introduced to him as members of the KLA, but stated that he was released on the 18th, which according to him was the day when had launched offensives in Zllashë.

The third part of today’s session where the trial was held in the case of former member of the Kosovo Liberation Army, Salih Mustafa, was conducted with questions by Mustafa’s lawyer.

The witness answered the defense’s questions about the day he claims to have been taken by some people, and about his stay in Zllashë.

“He tied that date because on the 18th the offensive fell, I know about that. There was an offensive in Zllashë, in Zllashë on the 18th and they released us, and they released us because of the offensive. They released us, they told us to leave because the offensive fell… I did not see the offensive, but they told us when we went out, run away because the offensive fell and we do not know where to go “, said the witness.

Mustafa’s lawyer, Julias Von Bone, asked the witness if he had seen the offensive and how long it had taken him to reach his place of residence.

“They loved me for somewhere around 5-6 hours… I forgot, it seems to me that it was at 11:00 (when they released us)”, said the witness.

As for the moment of detention, the witness said that the persons were introduced to him as military police and stressed that they told him to go with them to Zllashë as they have something to talk about.

The witness said that he had his head in the bag from the moment they put him in the car.

Lawyer Von Bone: How long did the trip take?

Witness: In other words, they do not have more than 20 minutes.

Lawyer Von Bone: Who did this?

Witness: That person in the red hat

Lawyer Von Bone: This was not the one driving the car, this person in the red hat

Witness: No, the car has no other arm, the one with the red hat was seated there together

Lawyer Von Bone: Can you describe that man (in red hats)

Witness: Tybe I do not know how to prescribe and I had the bag on top

Lawyer Von Bone: How do you know he wore a red hat then?

Witness: I know when the car came, I got in the car, I had it for a minute or two, he had a hat with a uniform, it was him, and the driver was in a uniform, I do not know more.

Lawyer: As little as you saw it, can you describe it, can you describe it?

Witness: No.

Lawyer Von Bone: It’s raining, has it rained any day?

Witness: Tybe I do not know, I have never seen, I do not know I do not remember.

Lawyer Von Bone: How did you understand the days that passed, how did you distinguish one day from another.

Witness: I have no day where I am, neither what day it is nor what time it is, until I went out that day on the 18th I have no day anything.

The third part of today’s session, the accused Salih Mustafa followed via video link, something was allowed by the trial panel,

Mustafa himself at the beginning of the session today had asked for the floor where he had stated that recently he is facing stress, but as he began to count the factors for his condition, the session continued closed.

The trial panel announced today that Mustafa will have the right to follow the hearings via video link, but in certain cases he may be invited by the trial panel to be present in the courtroom.

This is the first trial that has started in the Kosovo Specialized Chambers in The Hague. Salih Mustafa is the first detainee from the Special Forces. The indictment against Mustafa was confirmed on June 12, 2020, while he was arrested on September 24 last year, on charges of war crimes and against humanity.

In his statement before the court, Salih Mustafa pleaded not guilty.

Photo: flash

Today’s verdict, however, will not be final because appeals are possible, but it will give an answer as to whether the opinions have changed after a few years and whether Stanisic and Simatovic are still guilty of complicity in a joint criminal enterprise.

They are charged with four counts of crimes against humanity: persecution, murder, deportation and inhumane acts (forcible transfer) of Muslims and Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1991 to 1995, and one count charges them with violations of the laws or customs of war.

In the first trial, the court decided in 2013 that they were not guilty, after which the prosecutors filed an appeal. Then, in 2015, the Appellate Panel annulled the first instance verdict and ordered a retrial that began on June 13, 2017.

Today, after four years, the epilogue of the second, first-instance verdict to this tandem from the former DB will be known.

What are you charged with?

Stanisic, former deputy chief and chief of the State Security Service (DB) of the Serbian Interior Ministry, and Simatovic, former commander of the Special Operations Unit (JSO), are accused of leading, organizing, equipping, training, arming and financing special units from those positions. DB and other Serb forces involved in the killings, persecution, deportation and forcible transfer of non-Serb civilians from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1991 and 1995.

Jovica Stanisic

It alleges that the two were co-perpetrators in a joint criminal enterprise (JCE) that took place in April 1991 at the latest and lasted at least until 31 December 1995. The JCE stated that the aim was to forcibly and permanently remove the majority of the non-Serb population from large areas in Croatia and BiH.

They are charged with four counts of crimes against humanity: persecution, murder, deportation and inhumane acts, as well as one count of violations of the laws or customs of war – murder.

Such an indictment was filed on July 10, 2008 before the Hague Tribunal.

The first verdict – they are not guilty

At the first trial, which ended in 2013, the trial chamber ruled that Stanisic and Simatovic could not be held criminally responsible for the criminals they were accused of, after which they were acquitted.

Such a court decision at the time, however, was not unanimous, but the trial chamber could not conclude by a majority vote that Stanisic and Simatovic were responsible for directing, organizing, equipping, training, arming and financing Serbia’s state security units, which indictments, killed, persecuted and deported Croat civilians, Bosnian Muslims, Bosnian Croats and other non-Serbs from BiH and Croatia from 1991 to 1995.

Also, the panel could not conclude that Stanisic served as a “channel of communication” between Slobodan Milosevic, Radovan Karadzic and Milan Martic, who were reportedly the main organizers of the joint criminal enterprise.

The majority of the members of the panel established that Stanisic and Simatovic could not be characterized as participants in a joint criminal enterprise.

Frenki Simatović

Also, in the explanation of the verdict, it was said that infamous units, such as “Scorpions”, “Arkanovci”, “Martic’s militia” and “Red Berets” committed crimes, but that the help provided by Stanisic and Simatovic was not “specifically aimed at crimes , rather than “supporting their war efforts,” DW states.

With the exception of Doboj and Bosanski Samac, the panel did not conclude that the Special Operations Unit (JSO) had committed crimes in its operations. The majority of the Chamber considers that the Accused’s contribution to the JSO operations in Doboj and Bosanski Samac was not sufficient to characterize it as aiding and abetting the commission of crimes.

Jovica Stanisic and Frenki Simatovic

The indictment covers the period from 1991 to 1995 and what happened in the areas of the so-called SAO Krajina and SAO Baranja, Slavonia and Western Srem in Croatia, as well as in the municipalities of Bijeljina, Zvornik, Bosanski Samac, Sanski Most, Doboj and Trnovo.

In its closing arguments at the time, the Prosecution requested that Stanisic and Simatovic be sentenced to life in prison.

Retrial, same indictment

Following an appeal by the Hague Prosecutor, on 15 December 2015, the Appeals Chamber of the Tribunal quashed this first instance verdict and ordered that their trial be repeated, which began before the Mechanism on 13 June 2017.

The indictment remained the same at the new trial before the Mechanism (the legal successor of the Hague Tribunal).

During this trial, 51 prosecution witnesses and 29 witnesses for both indictees were examined.

The defense case began two years ago, in June 2019, and lasted until October last year. Lawyers for the two defendants called and examined 29 witnesses. The closing arguments of the prosecution and the defense were held two and a half months ago, in April this year.

The sentencing is today at 3 pm, and Stanisic and Simatovic arrived in Hah on June 24 in the detention unit, from where they will hear the sentencing in the courtroom.

Arrested in “Saber”

Stanisic and Simatovic were arrested by Serbian authorities on March 13, 2003, during Operation Saber, following the assassination of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic.

Stanisic was transferred to The Hague on June 11, and Simatovic on May 30 of that year.

The trial panel of the Kosovo Specialized Chambers in The Hague has decided that the trial against Salih Mustafa will begin on September 15, 2021.

According to the announcement of the Special Court, the Specialized Prosecutor will have three hours available for his introductory statement and the representative of the victims an hour and a half.

The trial panel decided that the first two witnesses summoned by the Specialized Prosecutor will be heard between Monday, September 20, 2021 and Tuesday, September 28, 2021, Telegrafi reports.

This is the first case before the Kosovo Specialized Chambers for which the trial will begin.

Special Prosecution Office (SPO) in The Hague on 09.06. 2021 had requested that the trial in the case of the former member of the Kosovo Liberation Army, Salih Mustafa, start on July 12 this year, but this date was opposed by the defense of the accused, who proposed that the trial begin after the holidays. summer.

In the preparatory conference for the trial in the case of Salih Mustafa, the SPO proposed, in addition to the beginning of the trial, on July 15 to start taking the testimonies of two witnesses.

Salih Mustafa, known as Commander “Cali” was arrested in September 2020 and since then is being held in custody in The Hague.

The indictment against Mustafa was confirmed on June 12.

On September 28, the former KLA superior, Salih Mustafa, appeared before the pre-trial judge./Telegrafi/

The chairman of the PSD, Dardan Molliqaj, has published an old statement of the Prime Minister Albin Kurti, who was then an MP, where he said that the Special Court should not be established.

Kurti said VV would never hand over the KLA to The Hague.

“VV will be in power tomorrow. “VV is the subject that will not hand you over to the Special Court, because we do not recognize the Special Court”, said Kurti at that time.

To this video, Molliqaj also linked the statement of Foreign Minister Donika Gërvalla, who at the time said that she would submit materials to Specials.

“Yes. “I have written materials and evidence”, she said at the time, among other things.

Molliqaj said that now we can not expect the government to oust former KLA leaders.

“How can we expect interest in KLA fighters from this government, which appoints Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister someone like Donika Gërvalla, who has publicly indicated that she has filed files against KLA soldiers,” he wrote.

“This is the Kurti government transformed from not handing over the fighters to the Court to handing over the files against them”, added Molliqaj./express

The chairman of PDK, at the same time the candidate for prime minister, Enver Hoxhaj held an electoral rally in Suhareka, where he spoke in front of the citizens of this municipality about the Recovery Plan.

There Hoxhaj pledged a fund of 1 billion euros to exit the crisis caused by the pandemic and 500 million euros of support for businesses.

“Our first priority is economic development, supporting the economy in small enterprises, medium enterprises, large enterprises, in a fund which is worth 1 billion euros. We can not increase the territory of Kosovo, but we can increase the economy of Kosovo, we can increase the welfare of Kosovo, we can increase the number of employees in Kosovo, so I know the first week, the first month, the first 100 days “Better than anyone else what should be done to get the country out of the economic and political crisis in which the two failed governments, Kurti and Hoti, have plunged,” he said.

Hoxhaj demanded that the pain for the absence of Thaçi and Veseli be turned into pride for PDK, voting strongly on February 14.

“Despite the pain we have for our friends who are not in Theranda today, who are not in Kosovo today, but are in The Hague, let us return the pain to pride. “And I invite you here in Theranda as I invite every citizen of Kosovo everywhere in Kosovo to translate the pain with pride and the pain turns into pride by voting strongly for the Democratic Party of Kosovo which will win the elections on February 14”, has said Hoxhaj.