Gashi: Thaci, Veseli, and Selimi are in a difficult position; I doubt that the Court will disclose which witnesses were intimidated

Lawyer Tome Gashi said for Kosovo Online that with the decision of the Specialized Chambers of Kosovo, the position of Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veseli, and Jakup Krasniqi had become very difficult, and they had been punished in this way with a certain form of isolation. This legal expert expects additional explanations from the Court but does not anticipate that details will be revealed, especially concerning the identity of the witnesses allegedly influenced, according to the Prosecution's claims.

The Specialized Chambers of Kosovo in The Hague have adopted a temporary decision to prohibit all visits to detention for former leaders of the KLA, Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veseli, and Rexhep Selimi, accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity. This decision was made due to the claimed risk of confidential trial information being leaked to the public. They are only allowed regular visits with their lawyers.

"We have a statement from the Special Prosecution that they requested the suspension of all physical visits and phone calls, and that they be separated, no longer in contact with other former KLA members in detention in The Hague. Based on media reports, the Special Court suspects that in recorded conversations during visits, some of the witnesses were intimidated, and some statements were made so that certain witnesses should behave when called to trial. I think the practices and rules in the Special Court, although Kosovo formed that court, are similar to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. All conversations are recorded there. For now, they are allowed only to have contact with lawyers, and in some situations, it can be recorded, but cannot be used during the trial. I believe a more concrete statement will follow from the Special Court, but for now, their position is very difficult because they cannot even see each other, and it's like a form of isolation. For anyone in prison, one of the greatest punishments is to have no contact with other people", Gashi explains.

In response to the question of whether the ban on visits could contribute to not influencing witnesses or if it's too late if it has already happened, Gashi says that he does not expect the Special Court to disclose which witnesses were in question during the trial.

"I think they have everything recorded, and I believe that during the trial, they will not reveal which witnesses were under some influence. It is assumed that the Special Court knows this, and if it is recorded, we will see if the court will publicly disclose it. I think it won't, or we will see that when the trial is over. I believe the verdict will be redacted due to the names of protected witnesses. I think we can also request a statement from the Special Court because, for now, it's only speculation", lawyer Gashi said.

In the Prosecution’s statement, it is emphasized that visitors of former KLA leaders conveyed information to witnesses, thereby intimidating them.

Gashi believes that arrests were made because of this, while EULEX questioned certain individuals who had visited former KLA leaders in The Hague.

"They knew in advance. That's why we may have had some arrests that happened a few weeks ago, and we had EULEX, based on the request of the Special Prosecution in The Hague, seeking evidence from certain individuals who were in contact with them during the visit to The Hague", Gashi concluded.