What did the suspects in the murder of Sergeant Lika state before the court?

Basic Court in Ferizaj, on Tuesday, April 22, there approved request of the Basic Prosecution Office of Ferizaj, assigning them the first measureimprisonment for a period of 30 days (each separately) DEFENDANTS Haki Bela, Rilind Murat, Vatan Caka, Edmond Lika, Kuka's brilliance, and Diamant Gashi, on suspicion of the murder of Sergeant Muhamed Lika on April 1 in Kaçanik. 

The Court's decision, provided by the Oath for Justice, states that during the hearing, Prosecutor Ismet Rrahmani remained entirely by the request submitted for the imposition of pre-trial detention. He stated that the well-founded suspicion that the defendants have committed the criminal offense they are suspected of, results from the evidence found in the case files.

How did the event happen?

According to the prosecutor, the evidence proves that on April 1, 2025, at around 23:00 in Kaçanik, on “Idriz Seferi” street, respectively on the second floor of the building entrance, in cooperation, with intent and prior preparation, the suspects planned to deprive the now deceased Muhamed Lika, on duty at the Police Station in Kaçanik, of his life. He said that Sergeant Lika, after finishing his work hours, on his way to his apartment, moved towards his residence, while the defendant Haki Bela, after staying at his “Aksa” bar, and from there headed towards the Police Station, where at (22:53), he encountered the victim, and then the victim continued towards the apartment, while the defendant Haki continued towards the “UÇK” street for 20 meters and then after 30 seconds returned towards the victim.

Still according to the decision, the prosecutor emphasized that the defendants Shkëlqim Kuka and Edmond Lika continued to observe the victim's journey on the road, where from the "Opel Astra" car with driver Kuka and passenger Edmond Lika, as the victim passed around the car in the direction of his apartment, passenger Lika got out of the car and got into his "Golf 2" car, driving with the lights off and continuing on the one-way road, following the victim in the direction he had moved.

Prosecutor Rrahmani added that the "Opel Astra" car from this moment takes action and continues going near the scene of the incident, where the victim continues his journey, then to "Idriz Seferi" street near the entrance to his apartment, where
Juvenile RB, from the security camera footage, continues to follow the victim, walking about 15-20 meters behind the victim, then enters the entrance of his apartment and immediately after the victim, juvenile RB follows him into the entrance of the apartment building.

Further, the prosecutor said that four 9.19 mm caliber cartridges were found at the scene and that due to the wounds received, the victim Lika was taken to the Family Medicine Center in Kaçanik, where medical teams determined his death, which was a result of gunshot wounds.

Then, at around 22:58, it was said that the security cameras observed the minor running back from where he had come after committing the murder, fleeing towards the “Dukagjini” bar, where he joined the defendant Murati, who had been waiting for him, and together they left via “Mejdi Dalloshi” street. Previously, the camera footage showed the minor RB, together with the defendants Rilind Murati and Vatan Çaka, and the movements of the other defendants, while after the murder the defendant Diamant helped the minor to leave the scene, while the defendant Haki Bela arrived at the scene about 14 minutes after the murder, and left after 2 minutes.

What did the suspects in the murder of police officer Muhamed Lika state in Court?

Suspect Haki Bela He stated before the court that he greets the family of the victim Muhamet Lika and feels sorry for the case, saying that something could happen between his family and the family of the deceased.

"He adds that he is completely innocent in this criminal case and the only fact is that he has a bar near the scene of the incident and they are about 200 meters away, he also adds that the house where he lives and the police station in Kaçanik are about 100 meters away, and that he frequents that street every day.", it is stated in the decision to impose the detention measure.

The suspect Bela stated that he personally, nor his family, have ever had any problems with the deceased or his family, requesting that another security measure be assigned to him since he is the breadwinner of the family.

Meanwhile, his attorney, Urim Bajraktari, said in the hearing that they oppose the imposition of pre-trial detention because the basic condition has not been met. According to him, the state prosecutor's claim that there was prior preparation between the defendants is unfounded and that this claim is presented only declaratively, without supporting it with evidence and testimony.

"Regarding the claims that, based on the video recordings, his client was allegedly seen driving his own vehicle in this case, he emphasizes that this does not constitute a reason for building suspicion based on the fact that he lives in that area, about 200 meters from the scene of the incident.", the lawyer is quoted as saying.

also suspect Rilind Murati, pleaded not guilty before the court, saying that he is not involved in this criminal case.

Meanwhile, his defense attorney - ex officio lawyer Musa Konxheli, had previously said that they oppose the request for detention, as the material evidence does not prove in any way that Murat is involved in the commission of this criminal offense.

"With two pieces of evidence, such as the statement given to the police by his client on 21.04.2025 and the request for the imposition of a detention measure, he declares that he trusts his client since none of these two pieces of evidence at this stage can be administered, therefore, we cannot come to the conclusion or confirmation of the key facts that constitute the figure of the criminal offense and with which his client Rilind Murati is also suspected.", the ruling further states.

The suspect Vatan Çaka, According to the Court, he said that on the critical night, after hearing numerous police alarms, he went to the scene only out of curiosity to see what had happened there, since he had previously understood from social networks that the victim was a KLA veteran.

He also said that his parent is a KLA veteran, who still suffers from the consequences of war trauma, and that there was no way he could do such a thing to a former war veteran.

His authorized defense attorney, attorney Ngadhnjim Rudi, considered the request for detention to be serious and unreasonable, saying that only the attitude of his client with the other two suspects, which was seen by security cameras, is mentioned, while it is not stated with which actions of his client, the Prosecution has reached the level of grounded suspicion that he is involved in the commission of this criminal offense.

"On page 4 of the reasoning, the prosecution emphasizes that "knowing that the same person had intentionally evaded the prosecution authorities from committing the crime", and that this claim is completely unfounded because his client was accessible, meaning he was at his home even when he was arrested.", the lawyer is quoted as saying.

Suspect Edmond Lika In the courtroom, he stated that he had nothing to do with this criminal case and that the place where he was with Shkëlqim Kuka was completely by chance.

His ex officio lawyer, Hesat Agushi, said that he completely opposes the Prosecution's request, saying that in the provision of the request for the imposition of the detention measure, there was no well-founded suspicion that his client was involved in the commission of this crime.

The suspect Shkelqim Kuka, It is said that he also stated that he has nothing to do with this criminal case.

His ex officio defense attorney, Kastriot Zenuni, has opposed the detention measure, saying that the case files do not show that there is convincing evidence that his client is involved in this crime. As for the prosecution's claims that his client followed and observed the victim on the critical night, according to him, this does not hold true given the fact that his client often did the same thing, since it is an area of ​​the city.

According to him, the suspect Kuka has never had any problems with the now deceased police officer, nor with issuing any tickets.

""As for the allegations that we are dealing with co-perpetration, even though we are in the investigation phase, it is clear from the case files that the conditions for co-perpetration are not met due to the fact that there is no decision by which these have been agreed upon.", the lawyer is said to have said.

The suspect Diamant Gashi stated that on the critical day he was at home and that he did not commit any of the actions mentioned in the request for the imposition of the measure by the Prosecution. He stated that he feels completely innocent, adding that he received the news of the murder of Sergeant Muhamed Lika from his parent the next morning.

His lawyer, Fehmije Gashi-Bytyqi, stated that these facts cannot support a well-founded suspicion of Dimant Gashi, saying that these descriptions are a big stain and in Kosovo, in addition to the law that is in the European spirit, she said that we are aware that customary law also exists. Therefore, according to her, in this situation the family of her client is in a bad situation.

The lawyer had requested that the suspect Gashi be placed under house arrest, believing that her client understands the importance of Kosovo's institutions.

Otherwise, on April 21, the measure of detention was also imposed on the minor RB.