The Special Court files a new indictment against Hashim Thaçi, what consequences are expected?

Law experts estimate that the filing of the new indictment against former president Hashim Thaçi, confirmed on Friday by the Special Court in The Hague, cannot affect the final decision of the current trial for alleged war crimes, but is expected to affect the continuation of the detention measure. The same ones show that based on the criminal offenses for which Thaçi is suspected, based on the new indictment, the maximum sentence can reach up to five years in prison.

In the confirmed indictment, three charges were raised for attempting to obstruct official persons in the performance of official duties, by participating in the joint action of a group.

In addition to Thaçi, the indictment also includes the former Minister of Justice, Hajredin Kuçi, the former head of the Kosovo Intelligence Agency, Bashkim Smakaj, the former mayor of Malisheva, Isni Kilaj and the former member of the KLA, Fadil Fazliu.

Read too The special indicts Thaçi, Smakaj, Kilaj, Fazliu and Kuçi for influencing the witnesses

Monitor and lawyer Amer Alija says that the indictment confirmed by the Special Court may make it difficult to determine the detention measure in the future.

"As for the final meritorious decision in the case against Thaci and others, I do not believe that it will have any impact on the factual situation. But, of course, it can have an impact on the continuation of the detention measure because the prosecution will always use as a pretext that one of the conditions has the risk of affecting the witnesses and they will always ask for the continuation of the detention measure. Of course, this indictment or this case will make his work difficult in terms of determining the measure of detention in the future", said Alija.

Alija emphasizes the fact that it is the first time that a second indictment has been filed against Thaçi.

"It is the first time that the second indictment has been brought against Hashim Thaçi. So, he is being tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The procedure is in the hearing of the witnesses proposed by the prosecution. Now, in parallel with this case, we will have another case for obstructing the administration of justice", Alija emphasizes.

Meanwhile, lawyer Ardian Bajraktari considers the new indictment against Thaçi unstable. According to him, in reference to the criminal code, an essential element of this criminal offense is violence or serious threats, for which he points out that such a thing is impossible to be carried out by a person who has been deprived of his freedom.

"The raising of claims, namely indictments that a person hinders the official person in the performance of official duties in reference to the criminal code, an essential element of this criminal offense is violence or serious intimidation. It is absolutely impossible for a person who is deprived of freedom to have the opportunity to use violence or threats. Therefore, I evaluate these indictments with special emphasis on Thaçi, the accusations related to the obstruction of the official person in the performance of his official duty are of course unstable", said Bajraktari.

Bajraktari says that the filing of the new indictment proves the failure of the prosecution in the professional aspect on the claims in relation to the charges brought against the former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army. He considers that this indictment can be used as a justification to continue the detention of the accused.

Read too The new indictment, the Special, shows the names of Thaçi's three groups for obstructing justice

"There are not many frequent cases, however, one should take into account the fact that within the competences of the Specialized Chambers and the Specialized Prosecutor's Office, according to Article 15, there are recognized criminal offenses and criminal offenses related to the administration of justice. The vast majority of these indictments that are being filed go in this direction, additional powers defined with the Specialized Chambers... I estimate that the prosecution may have done it because it is currently in a delicate phase in terms of arguing their claims, with special emphasis , those related to the joint criminal enterprise with the fact that in no evidence that we have seen so far I do not believe that this claim has been proven... This can be used as a justification in preventing the eventual continuation of detention as a measure to ensure the presence of the defendant in this protracted procedure", said Bajraktari.

In addition to these, lawyer Bajraktari indicates that the maximum sentence for criminal offenses for which a new indictment has been filed can be up to five years.

"It varies depending on the nature of the criminal offences. It is approximately five years in case we are dealing with criminal offenses of obstructing an official in the performance of official duties. Disobeying the court is less punishable according to the respective provisions of the criminal code", says Bajraktari.

The same is said by lawyer Alija. The confirmed indictment charges Thaçi with suspicions that he gave confidential information to Smakaj, Kilaj, Fazli and Kuçi, during non-privileged visits to the detention facility - where Thaçi has been held since November 2020.

According to a notice that the Special sent on Friday evening, all of them are suspected of criminal offenses related to allegations of illegal attempts to influence the testimony of witnesses in the case of Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi.

The information, according to the indictment, concerns the witnesses of the Specialized Prosecutor's Office.

The indictment says that Thaçi allegedly gave them instructions to influence the testimony of ZPS witnesses and detailed how they were to do this. Meanwhile, two charges of disobedience to the court have been filed against Hajredin Kuçi.

The announcement of the indictment came after the Special transferred Isni Kilaj, Bashkim Smakaj and Fadil Fazliu to The Hague, who were arrested on Thursday during an operation in Kosovo./KP