Alija: Every Hague court verdict must be respected, those dissatisfied will have the right to appeal to the Appeals Court

Amer Alija, a lawyer with the Kosovo Humanitarian Law Fund, told Kosovo Online ahead of the September 16 announcement of the first-instance verdict in the case against the former KLA leaders in The Hague that every court verdict must be respected, and that parties dissatisfied with the decision will certainly have the right to appeal to the Appeals Court.

He recalled that a march, or protest, has been announced in Pristina for September 12 ahead of the verdict, and that there may also be a march in The Hague, but that every court verdict must be respected.

He said it would be unprofessional to comment on whether or not there is evidence in this case, because observers of the proceedings, the media and everyone outside the proceedings have had limited access to both the evidence and the court hearings.

“As for guilt and the verdict, it is unprofessional to comment on whether or not there is evidence. It is the trial panel that analyzes all the evidence. It will provide the answer as to whether or not there is evidence,” Alija said.

He added that a large number of witnesses have been heard in this case, and that approximately 50 percent of them gave their testimony in closed sessions.

“I do not know what the verdict will be, but it could be either a conviction or an acquittal. It could also be that someone is partially acquitted. All of these are possibilities. But given that a large number of hearings were closed and that we as observers do not have access to certain evidence, I do not want to speculate on what the verdict will be,” Alija said.