Filipovic: Witness in Cepkenovic case changed her testimony several times

Attorney Jovana Filipovic said that a prosecution witness questioned today in the case against Nadica Cepkenovic had changed her testimony several times and had also been unable to identify the individuals listed in an identification record she had signed.

“At today’s main hearing, we questioned the witness Zahrije, who completely changed her testimony regarding her affiliation with the KLA. Her statement to the police, as well as numerous interviews she gave, indicated that she had a senior role in the KLA, involving the supply of weapons, food and other necessities, whereas in her testimony at today’s hearing she claimed only that she had provided information at the time,” Filipovic said.

Filipovic stressed that the witness’s statements were also inconsistent with the evidence submitted to the Court.

“This is particularly significant given the 302-minute interview she gave to Oral History Kosovo, in which she specifically identified the person who, according to her, mistreated her while she was detained in the prison in Lipljan. On that occasion, she said that a woman named Nadica worked at the prison and that Nadica had never even touched her, as she stated at the time. That evidence has been submitted to the Court, and we will see why she subsequently changed her testimony. We will also see how Zahrije proceeds with her testimony in these proceedings once the Court decides whether to admit the defense evidence,” the attorney said.

Filipovic submitted a filing to the Court concerning the interview in question.

“The second part concerns photographs of individuals who worked at the prison in Lipljan at the time. It is particularly worth noting that the witness claimed that one of the photographs depicted Nadica. Today, before the Court, it became clear that the photograph did not depict the defendant and that this was evidently a case of mistaken identification. Moreover, the same witness was unable to recall even a single name of the individuals listed in the identification record she had signed,” Filipovic said.

She stressed that the attorneys’ position was that criminal complaints should be filed in cases of false testimony.

“In any event, once the criminal proceedings against our clients have been concluded, the general position of all the attorneys is that criminal complaints should be filed against witnesses who have clearly misled the Court, given that this constitutes a criminal offense and that both statements were given under oath. Specifically, in the case of today’s witness, for example, we have one statement given to the police in which she claimed that she had been a mobilized member of a KLA guerrilla group, whereas today she claimed that she had never been mobilized or been a member of the KLA. Given that it is obvious that both of these statements cannot be true, we believe that the position of all the attorneys that criminal complaints should be filed against such witnesses is entirely justified, and we hope that the Kosovo prosecution will have sufficient resolve and willingness to address these matters in the manner they require,” Filipovic concluded.

The indictment against Nadica Cepkenovic, a former guard at the Lipljan prison, was filed on December 31 last year. She was arrested together with Boban Tonic, also a former guard at the prison, in April last year.

At a preliminary hearing before the Special Department of the Basic Court in Pristina in February this year, Nadica Cepkenovic pleaded not guilty to the criminal offense.

Following the detention hearing, the defense attorneys argued that the prosecutor had presented generalized evidence and had failed to specify the acts allegedly committed by the defendants.