The decision to return Sekiraqa to custody is legal, he can escape and avoid justice, the Supreme Court finds

The Supreme Court has confirmed the decision of the Court of Appeal to return Enver Sekiraqa to custody after he was sentenced to 25 years in prison for inciting the murder of policeman Triumf Riza.

In the reasoning of the Supreme Court, it is said that the claim of Sekiraqa's defender, lawyer Besnik Berisha, that the appeal of the Special Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Kosovo (PSRK), in the Appeal against release was illegal, is unfounded.

According to the Supremes, the prosecution's complaint was fair and legal, reports "Oath of Justice".

"(As the parties were rightly instructed about the right of appeal in the first-instance decision) as well as constitutional category, so does the second-instance court, acting according to the appeal, has the right and competence to change according to the findings ( as in the present case) the decision of the first-instance court", says the Supremes ruling.

The Supreme Court has emphasized that the Appeal has rightly found that the first instance did not give sufficient reasons regarding the gravity and unsuitability when it decided to let Sekiraq be free to defend himself, since the accused was convicted of a serious criminal offense and this circumstance represents the risk of escape.

"This Court estimates that there is a legal basis for determining the measure of detention in accordance with Article 184 par. 1 under par. 1.1 and 1.2 point 1.2.1 of the CPC, taking into account the height of the sentence imposed, it is a circumstance that shows the risk that by leaving the defendant at liberty, there is a possibility that he will obstruct the course of the criminal procedure by escaping, fleeing or hidden in order to avoid criminal responsibility, and in this way the regular development of the criminal procedure is impossible", it is further stated in the reasoning.

Read too Is the Police involved in the departure of Enver Sekiraqa from Kosovo?

The Supreme Court has repeatedly emphasized that other measures, namely protection in freedom, would be insufficient to ensure the presence of the defendant in the criminal procedure and that the defender's claims are unfounded.

Sekiraqa's defender, lawyer Besnik Berisha, in his appeal for the Appeal decision which had sent Sekiraqa back to custody, had emphasized that the appeal of the Special Prosecution as presented was legally prohibited and had no legal support.

"The same as a whole lacks the imperative legal requirements from article 376 under par. 1.5 and 1.6 of the CPC, and that the complaint, in addition to being inadmissible due to the legal compliance with Article 411 of the CPC, at the same time has unlawfully burdened the position of the defendant at this stage of the criminal procedure, since the court of first instance through the decision of The appellant terminated the measure of house arrest in a legal manner and at the permitted procedural stage", the lawyer's complaint is cited.

According to the complaint, in ECtHR practice it has been emphasized that although the existence of reasonable suspicion that a person has committed a criminal offense is a prerequisite for detention, it is not sufficient as the sole reason for detention after a certain time, regardless of how serious the offense and the force proof of evidence against the defendant.

The Chief State Prosecutor, with the submission, had proposed that the complaint of the defendant's defense be rejected as unfounded.

"Oath of Justice", on May 25, 2024, published the research "Sekiraqa vs State", where it was shown how Sekiraqa was released while he is now considered a fugitive.

The Basic Court had released Sekiraqa to defend himself after he was found guilty and sentenced until he escaped. Judge Agim Kuçi has been suspended for this case until the President of the Court said that Kuçi decided without consultation with the members of the jury that Sekiraqa should be protected in freedom

However, after the Appeal decision on May 18, 2024, Enver Sekiraqa did not return to custody but managed to escape. The police did not find him at home.

The accused Enver Sekiraqa, on May 3, 2024, after returning the case twice to retrial, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for inciting the murder of the policeman Triumf Riza.

The Basic Court in Pristina, for the second time on September 16, 2019, found Enver Sekiraq guilty of inciting the murder of ex-policeman Triumf Riza and sentenced him to 30 years in prison.

However, the Court of Appeal on March 6, 2020, had decided to approve the appeal of Sekiraqa's defense, returning the case to a retrial for the second time, since according to the Appeal, the verdict of the first instance was obtained in violation of the provisions of the criminal procedure.

For the same case, Sekiraqa was also sentenced on May 17, 2016, for two criminal offenses of "incitement to commit serious murder" and for the offense of "coercion" with a unique sentence of 37 years in prison, while he was acquitted for the criminal offense of "rape". .

The Court of Appeal, on October 24, 2017, held a hearing regarding the appointment of the security measure against Enver Sekiraqa, after the same court on October 19, in the evening hours, released him from custody and imposed the measure on him of house arrest.

Three judges of Appeal, two from EULEX, Elka Ermenkova and Anna Adamska-Gallant, as well as the local judge Mejreme Memaj, voted for the change in the security measure against him.

However, this court, after only two days, decided to return Enver Sekiraq to custody again, and for this, a photo was published on the social network, by friends who had visited him after his release from custody.

With this, the court of second instance assessed that Enver Sekiraqa violated the measure of house arrest that was assigned to him.

Otherwise, in the session of the Court of Appeal, which was held on September 6, 2017, where the appeal claims of the parties were examined, Enver Sekiraqa requested to be released from detention and to be protected in freedom.

As a guarantee for his release, Sekiraqa had offered his property, including the house, the bar and a sum of money, which he said he would collect with the help of his family.

The international prosecutor of the Appeals Prosecution, Anca Stan, at the September 6 session of the Appeals panel, stated that apart from the allegations in the complaint, she had nothing else to add, but she said that the defense party's request to exclude some of the evidence crucial are wrong.

In April 2014, the Special Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Kosovo filed an indictment against Enver Sekiraqa for three criminal offences, for inciting the murder of Triumf Riza, "coercion" and "rape", where for the latter, the court of first instance had declared him innocent.

The prosecution claims that the incident that happened in the "Swiss Casino" between Sekiraqa and Riza was one of the motives that led to the murder of Triumf Riza.

The incident at "Swiss Casino" happened in December 2006, while Enver Sekiraqa and some of his companions were involved on one side, and the late Triumf Riza and Arben Selmani on the other side. Arben Selmani was seriously injured in this incident.

Triumf Riza was killed on August 30, 2007, for which Arben Berisha was sentenced to 35 years in prison, while Enver Sekiraqa was sentenced to 37 years in prison.