At the Basic Court in Pristina, at the proposal of the defense, it is closed to the public. initial hearing in the "State Reserves" case where the acting Minister of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade, Rozeta Hajdari, as well as Irfan Lipovica, Hafiz Gara and Ridvan Muharremi are being accused.
The presiding judge, Avni Syla, approved the defense's proposal and, in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code, closed the session to the public, arguing that the legal conditions for closing this session have been met, as we are dealing with preserving confidentiality and information that will be at risk from the public, as well as for the protection of witnesses, reports "Oath for Justice".
Photo: Ridvan Slivova/Telegraph
Initially, the presiding judge, Avni Syla, said that since they had received the indictment and the case files, some of which were redacted by the special prosecutor, he assessed that they constituted a state secret.
He also said that they have also proposed anonymous witnesses in the indictment, so he sought the opinion of the parties in the procedure on whether the trial should be open or closed to the public.
Special Prosecutor Valdet Gashi said that the judicial review should be open, with the exception of situations when parts that are considered secret by the Prosecution, and which are presented in the indictment, are discussed during the hearings.
Photo: Ridvan Slivova/Telegraph
Gashi said that they can coordinate to share those parts when the session is closed to the public and when it remains open.
Hajdar's authorized defense attorney, lawyer Florent Latifaj, disagreed with Prosecutor Gashi's statement, as according to him, we are dealing with state secrets in many cases, and to which documents, according to him, none of the lawyers, the prosecutor's associates, nor the investigating police officers had the right to access.
"I believe that you too, including you as the presiding judge and the special prosecutor, for which my colleague Feim Alaj has received a response from the relevant institution for this matter, AMIK, who have emphasized that we as defense attorneys, but also other persons who do not have a security certificate to have access to information classified as secret, have no right to either see or touch those documents, and we can do the same if those documents are declassified," said Latifaj.
According to him, these documents have passed into the hands of at least 20 people who did not have the security certificate, for this reason, he claims that the prosecutor is requesting that the hearing be open to the public.
Therefore, Latifaj proposed that the session be closed to the public.
Photo: Ridvan Slivova/Telegraph
Lipovica's defense attorney, attorney Feim Alaj, said that they have informed the Prosecution through a submission regarding the proposal to hold this hearing. He said that the entire file is classified.
"The Prosecutor's Office was notified between 31.07.2025 and 21.08.2025 regarding the procedures that the law provides before having or having access to classified documents," said lawyer Alaj.
Alaj proposed to the Court to oblige the SPRK to initiate the declassification of the state reserves file, and then decide whether to hold open or closed sessions.
Meanwhile, Gara's defense attorney, attorney Nazim Mehmeti, said that his client is one month away from retirement and that he has dedicated his entire career to public institutions of the state. He said that the Court should take an opinion on whether this matter is secret.
Mehmeti proposed that the session be held in open session, arguing that it is in the interest of the parties and the citizens.
Muharrem's defense attorney, attorney Mahmut Halimi, said he supports all the claims of the other defense attorneys.
"This procedure, which has been ongoing for more than two years now, has been accompanied by numerous events and usual comments, but why not propaganda... starting initially from the filing of a complaint three days before my client's arrest, by a portal that warned that the country would be shaken by a scandal, and immediately after that, it also resulted in the complaint of one of the deputies of the Kosovo Assembly, who warned of a recording that took place in the Ministry for which we are here today. So, trust in the prosecution body in the Prosecution and Police has been ruled out," said Halimi.
According to him, based on what has happened, we can no longer talk about classified documents. He said that they, as the defense, have refused to receive the case files from the Prosecution and emphasizes that the concern is the same as that expressed by his colleagues - due to the risk that they could end up as suspects.
Lawyer Halimi said he leaves the issue of closing the session to the court's discretion.
Photo: Ridvan Slivova/Telegraph
Then, Judge Syla approved the proposal of lawyers Latifaj and Alaj, closing the session, with the reasoning that the legal conditions have been met because we are dealing with preserving confidentiality and information that will be at risk from the public and the protection of witnesses in this criminal case.
The judge said he would issue a separate ruling on this matter. The media and other persons not parties to the proceedings were then ordered to vacate the courtroom.
Otherwise, the hearing scheduled for December 10, 2025, failed in the absence of Hajdar and Lipovica's lawyer - Feim Alaj.
Otherwise, the Special Prosecution Office of the Republic of Kosovo (SPRK) on November 11, 2025 filed an indictment against the acting Minister of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade, Rozeta Hajdari, as well as against Irfan Lipovica, Hafiz Gara and Ridvan Muharrem in connection with the case known as "State Reserves".
Minister Hajdari, former Deputy Secretary of MINT, Irfan Lipovica, and the Director of the State Reserves Department at MINT, Hafiz Gara, are accused of committing the criminal offenses of "Abuse of official position or authority" and "Disclosure of official secret". Meanwhile, businessman Ridvan Muharremi, known as "Ridi", is being accused by the SPRK of committing the criminal offense of "Assistance in the commission of the criminal offense of abuse of official position or authority".
"Oath for Justice" has reported on the indictment filed by special prosecutors, Valdet Gashi and Milot Krasniqi, at the Special Department of the Basic Court in Pristina. According to the indictment filed, the budget has been damaged in the amount of 2,912,134.78 euros.
Based on the SPRK indictment, the defendants Rozeta Hajdari in the capacity of Minister of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade, Irfan Lipovica as Deputy Secretary and Hafiz Gara in the position of Director of the Department of State Reserves, in violation of the Law on Public Procurement, avoiding the competition process, through a negotiation procedure had negotiated and then signed a contract with the Turkish company "Yafe Turizm Indaat Sanayi ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi" headquartered in Bursa, Turkey, for the purchase of 10 thousand tons of wheat at a price of 4,834,778.00 euros. It states that the price for the purchase of wheat was contracted 193.48 euros higher than the average market price.
The indictment further states that defendants Hajdari, Lipovica and Gara also negotiated and signed a contract with the company "Xanto SP. ZO. O" based in Gdynia, Poland, for the purchase of 200 thousand liters of oil and 120 thousand kilograms of sugar. However, despite the payment made, the goods were never received.
Hajdari, Lipovica, Gara are charged with revealing official secrets by providing Muharrem with information about the location of the storage of wheat as a state reserve commodity. Details from the Dossier can be found at: HERE.
Likewise, "Oath for Justice" also reported on the role of Hajdar, Lipovica, Gara and Muharrem, according to the SPRK indictment, in the process of purchasing "State Reserves".
Also, the public had the opportunity to learn about all the details of the accusations in this case on the show "Oath for Justice" entitled "Special Accusations for State Reserves", broadcast on November 15, 2025.
