A victim in the case of former KLA leaders withdraws from participation in the process

Angela Griep, spokesperson for the Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSCC) in The Hague, has announced that a victim participating in the case against Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selim and Jakup Krasniqi has withdrawn from participation in the process.

According to Griep, the victims' advocate said the reason for this withdrawal is due to security concerns.

"On March 17, the victim advocate informed the panel that one victim decided to withdraw from participating in the proceedings due to safety concerns. Currently, 154 victims are participating in the proceedings in this case through the victim advocate," she said.

The spokesperson indicated that on March 18, in the case of the former KLA leaders, a written testimony from a witness was accepted, while the non-calling party, which falls to the defense, can question the witness.

On the same day, Griep said that the testimonies of four witnesses were admitted into evidence, but without cross-examination by the defense.

Meanwhile, on March 13, 2025, according to the spokeswoman, a request by the SPO to admit six witness statements into evidence in written form only, since they have passed away, was partially approved. The request was approved for only five of the statements, while for the sixth statement the request was partially approved.

“With regard to five of the statements, the trial panel granted the request, finding that the evidence is not for the purpose of establishing the actions and conduct of the accused and that its probative value is not negated by the prejudicial effect on the accused. The trial panel also found that the evidence is consistent with and corroborated by the statements of other witnesses whom the defense had the opportunity to question. With regard to the sixth statement, the trial panel granted the request in part and ordered the Prosecution to exclude parts of the testimony relating to an incident not included in the indictment,” Griep said, reports “Oath of Justice".

She added that as regards the claim that some aspects of this evidence are speculative or unsupported, the panel stressed that this would be taken into account when considering the weight and probative value to be given to that evidence.

Griep also spoke about the continuation of the detention measure for Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi.

Meanwhile, in the case of Thaçi against the administration of justice, he said that during the past week, several decisions were made public regarding the indictment in this case, the raids and seizures carried out by the Prosecution.

Meanwhile, in the case of Salih Mustafa, she indicated that two reports by the administrator from May and July 2024 regarding the implementation of the compensation order were made public.

Griep said the administrator emphasized that the victims have received a certain percentage of the compensation they were awarded. While other details regarding this topic remain confidential.

Griep reiterated that they are not in a position to provide information regarding any request or any decision regarding Thaçi's temporary release in Kosovo following the death of his father. He said that any request is initially confidential and once the visits are completed, they are usually reclassified as public.

Griep announced during this conference that on March 4, the trial panel partially approved the Prosecution's request for the admission into evidence of documents related to the Shala and Karadak areas, as they were assessed as authentic and closely related to the case.

Otherwise, the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague, every Thursday, at 14:30 PM, through the online platform "Zoom", hold a weekly briefing where they provide information.