On 14 July 2025, the Court of Appeals Panel in the case of the Specialist Prosecutor v. Pjetër Shala, composed of Judges Michèle Picard, Kai Ambos and Nina Jørgensen, issued its judgment.
The Appeals Panel affirmed Mr Shala’s conviction for the War Crimes of Arbitrary Detention (count 1), Torture (count 3), and Murder (count 4).
However, the Appeals Panel also granted in part three of the fourteen grounds raised by Mr Shala in his appeal, dismissing the remaining grounds raised by Mr Shala, and reducing his sentence from 18 to 13 years of imprisonment, with credit for time served.
In relation to Ground 7 of Mr Shala’s Appeal, the Appeals Panel found that for five of the individuals found by the Trial Panel to have been mistreated at the Kukës Metal Factory, no in-court testimony had been provided to support their mistreatment or that they had been detained during the period when the serious mistreatment took place. This was significant because under the KSC Rules, a conviction may not be based solely or to a decisive extent on the statement of a witness whom the Defence had no opportunity to examine.
For this reason, the Appeals Panel reversed the torture conviction as it related to these five individuals, while affirming Mr Shala’s conviction for the torture of at least thirteen other individuals.
Similarly, in relation to Mr Shala’s conviction for arbitrary detention, the Appeals Panel found that, for two individuals, the Prosecution had not provided evidence of their detention through a witness the Defence was able to test in court. The Appeals Panel therefore reversed the arbitrary detention conviction as it related to these two individuals, while affirming Mr Shala’s conviction for arbitrary detention in relation to at least sixteen other individuals.
The Panel also granted Ground 12 of Mr Shala’s Appeal, in part, reversing certain findings, including that the detainees were deprived of their liberty without legal basis, but found that the reversal of these findings had no impact on Mr Shala’s conviction for arbitrary detention.
Finally, regarding Ground 14 of the Appeal, the Appeals Panel found that the Trial Panel had failed to give sufficient weight when considering Mr Shala’s sentence to the fact that he did not have a commanding role in relation to his personal contribution to the crime of murder. The Appeals Panel also found that the sentence imposed by the Trial Panel was out of reasonable proportion to comparable cases.
Based on these findings, the Appeals Panel reduced Mr Shala’s sentence.
In concluding, the Appeals Panel emphasised that it has confirmed Mr Shala’s convictions for the war crimes of arbitrary detention, torture and murder, and that the reduction in his sentence in no way suggests that the crimes for which he has been convicted and sentenced are not grave.
The Appeals Panel also stressed that the Specialist Chambers only have jurisdiction over individuals, not groups or organisations and that “neither the KLA nor the Kosovo people were the subject of these proceedings, and they have not been found responsible for or convicted of these crimes”.
A summary of the Appeal Judgment can be found on the KSC website.
Background
Pjetër Shala was arrested on 16 March 2021 in Belgium and transferred to the Detention Unit of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers on 15 April 2021. The trial judgment was pronounced on 16 July 2024.
The Trial Panel found Mr Shala guilty of the war crimes of arbitrary detention, torture and murder.
The case concerns war crimes committed between approximately 17 May 1999 and 5 June 1999, at the Kukës Metal Factory (KMF), a former metal works factory in the town of Kukës, in the north of Albania. Throughout this time, the KMF served as headquarters for the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) in Kukës and was used for a variety of purposes, including recruitment, mobilisation and logistics.
It was also used by certain KLA members to detain, interrogate and mistreat persons who were perceived to collaborate with, be associated with, or sympathize with the Serbian authorities, or who were considered to be not sufficiently supportive of the KLA effort. The victims were predominantly Kosovar Albanians, having suffered at the hands of other Kosovar Albanians.
The Trial Panel found that detainees were held in inhumane and degrading conditions, subjected to harsh interrogations, and forced to provide statements and confessions. They were psychologically and physically mistreated and the brutal mistreatment left the detainees with long-lasting physical and mental injuries. One detainee was shot by a KLA member, after having been also severely mistreated by a group of KLA members. He died from the consequences of the gunshot wounds, combined with the denial of appropriate medical treatment.
In May/June 1999, Mr Shala was a member of the KLA. He was physically present at the KMF on several occasions and participated, together with other KLA members, in the interrogation and brutal mistreatment of several detainees. He also participated in the brutal mistreatment of the detainee who died after having been shot.
The Reparation Order in respect of victims was pronounced by the Trial Panel on 29 November 2024. The Trial Panel awarded reparations to eight victims participating in the proceedings and ordered Mr. Shala to pay a sum of €208,000 as compensation for the physical, mental and material harm they suffered.
Mr Shala has also appealed the Reparation Order and a judgment on this matter will be issued separately, in due course.
More information on the case can be found on the Pjetër Shala Case Page.