Kosovo War Veterans’ Leaders Indicted for Obstructing Justice
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Haradinaj (right) and Gucati in court on September 29 and October 1. Photos: Kosovo Specialist Chambers/Screenshot.
A pre-trial judge on Monday confirmed the indictment of Hysni Gucati and Nasim Haradinaj for “offences against the administration of justice, namely obstruction of official persons in performing official duties, intimidation of witnesses, retaliation and violation of secrecy of proceedings”, the Kosovo Specialist Chambers said in a statement.
Gucati and Haradinaj were arrested in September after a raid on the Kosovo Liberation Army War Veterans’ Organisation’s offices and sent to The Hague.
They were held after batches of confidential case files from the Specialist Chambers were lead to the KLA veterans’ group and Gucati and Haradinaj urged media to publish the material.
The indictment alleges that between September 7 and 25, 2020, “on the occasion of three press conferences and other broadcasted events, as well as through… social media statements, Mr. Gucati and Mr. Haradinaj revealed, without authorisation” lawfully protected information.
It also claims that they identified “details of certain (potential) witnesses”.
“Mr. Gucati and Mr. Haradinaj also made disparaging accusations and remarks against (potential) witnesses and repeatedly expressed their intention to undermine the Specialist Chambers,” the Hague court’s statement added.
Haradinaj and Gucati are expected to have their initial pre-trial hearings on December 15 and December 18 respectively. They challenged the legality of the Specialist Chambers in their first appearances before the court.
The Specialist Chambers was set up to try former KLA guerrillas for crimes allegedly committed during and just after the Kosovo war from 1998 to 2000. They are part of Kosovo’s judicial system but located in the Netherlands and staffed by internationals.
The so-called ‘special court’, widely resented by Kosovo Albanians who see it as an insult to the KLA’s war for liberation from Serbian rule, was set up under pressure from Kosovo’s Western allies.
Those awaiting trial for wartime crimes include Kosovo’s recently-resigned President Hashim Thaci and former Democratic Party of Kosovo leader Kadri Veseli alongside two other guerrillas turned politicians, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi. They have all pleaded not guilty.
A status conference in the case against Salih Mustafa, who was a KLA commander in north-east Kosovo during wartime, was also held at the Specialist Chambers on Monday.
The prosecution said it would be ready for the start of the trial by March 2021, while the defence said it estimated that the trial could only start six weeks after that.
Mustafa is charged with the arbitrary detention, cruel treatment, torture and murder of civilian prisoners. He has pleaded not guilty.
