​​Salih Mustafa, accused in the Salih Mustafa case at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague

Salih Mustafa was Commander of a BIA guerrilla unit, which operated within the Llap Operational Zone of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).

INDICTMENT HISTORY

The indictment against Mustafa was confirmed on 12 June 2020 and the final version was made public on 28 September 2020. 

Summary of charges

The indictment charges Mustafa on the basis of individual criminal responsibility and superior criminal responsibility with crimes committed by certain KLA members against persons detained at the detention compound in the village of Zllash/Zlaš, located in the Gollak/Goljak region in Kosovo. According to the indictment, between approximately 1 April 1999 and around the end of April 1999, Salih Mustafa and certain other KLA soldiers, police, and guards shared a common purpose to interrogate and mistreat detainees at the Zllash detention compound and the common purpose involved the crimes as specified below.

The charges are the following:

Four counts of war crimes

  • Arbitrary detention (Count 1)
  • Cruel treatment (Count 2)
  • Torture (Count 3)
  • Murder (Count 4)

 

PROCEDURAL DEVELOPMENTS

Pre-trial/Trial/Reparations (Case number: KSC-BC-2020-05)

24/09/2020

Mustafa arrested and transferred to the KSC Detention Unit.

28/09/2020

Initial appearance before Pre-Trial Judge Nicolas Guillou.

28/10/2020

Further appearance; Mustafa pleaded not guilty to all counts.

10/02/2021

First decision on victims’ applications issued.

22/02/2021

Prosecution filed final pre-trial brief (confidential).

30/04/2021

Second decision on victims’ applications

06/05/2021

Defence filed final pre-trial brief (confidential).

07/05/2021

Case file transmitted to Trial Panel I.

21/05/2021

Third decision on victims’ applications; deadline to apply extended until close of Prosecution’s case. 

9-10/06/2021

Trial preparation conferences held; the 9 June afternoon and 10 June sessions were closed and ex parte.

15/09/2021

Trial started with opening statements of Prosecution and Victims’ Counsel.

04/02/2022

Prosecution closed its case.

23/02/2022

Panel denied Defence motion to dismiss charges (Rule 130).

8–9/03/2022

Defence preparation conference took place.

21/03/2022

Victims’ Counsel presented evidence.

22/03/2022

Defence case commenced.

26/05/2022

Defence closed its case.

01/06/2022

Prosecution presented rebuttal evidence (testimony of one witness and additional documentary evidence).

03/06/2022

Panel admitted additional evidence under Rule 132 (two expert reports on the medical assessment of admitted victims).

20/06/2022

Evidentiary proceedings closed.

21–22/07/2022

Defence and Prosecution filed final trial briefs.

13–15/09/2022

Closing statements held.

16/12/2022

Trial judgment pronounced: Mustafa found guilty of war crimes (arbitrary detention, torture, murder); sentenced to 26 years’ imprisonment.

06/04/2023

Reparation order issued: Mustafa to pay €207,000 in compensation to victims.

17/01/2024

Judge Gilbert Bitti assigned to oversee implementation of the Reparation order.

18/09/2024

Judge Bitti ruled that no payment be made to the victim who waived reparation rights; the waived share was redistributed pro rata among the seven remaining victims.

18/02/2025

Judge Bitti re-assigned for a further one-year term.

 

Trial information/statistics
Trial Panel composition
Judges Mappie Veldt-Foglia (presiding), Roland Dekkers, Gilbert Bitti, Vladimir Mikula (reserve judge)
Specialist Prosecutor's Office
Cezary Michalczuk, Silvia D’Ascoli, Filippo De Minicis
Defence Counsel
Julius von Bóné (counsel), Betim Shala (co-counsel)
Victims' Counsel
Anni Pues (counsel), Annebrecht Vossenberg (co-counsel)
Number of witnesses in court
28 witnesses – SPO: 13 (1 recalled during rebuttal), Defence: 15
Number of written witness testimonies
2 (SPO)
Number of participating victims 
8
Number of trial days in court
53
Pre-trial period length
11 months 22 days
Trial judgment deliberation phase length (between the end of trial until the pronouncement of trial judgment)
3 months
Total time before Basic Court (from transfer to the KSC until the trial judgment)
26 months 22 days

 

Appeal Proceedings (Case number: KSC-CA-2023-02)

02/02/2023

Mustafa’s Defence filed (confidentially) its notice of appeal against the judgment. Public redacted version filed on 13 Feb 2023.

16/02/2023

Pre-Appeal Conference held.

02/05/2023

Defence's corrected appeal brief filed; public redacted version filed on 15 September 2023.

26–27/10/2023

Appeal hearing held.

14/12/2023

Appeal judgment pronounced. Appeals Panel:

  • Affirmed convictions for war crimes: arbitrary detention (count 1), torture (count 3), and murder (count 4).

  • Dismissed eight grounds raised by Defence but granted in part Defence’s challenge to the 26-year sentence, reducing it to 22 years’ imprisonment with credit for time served.

  • Confirmed that the Reparation Order of 6 Apr 2023 was unaffected, as it was not appealed.

10/09/2024

Following the Supreme Court’s 29 Jul 2024 decision, the Appeals Panel imposed a new overall sentence of 15 years with credit for time served.

Appeal case information/statistics
Court of Appeals Panel composition
Judges Michèle Picard (presiding), Kai Ambos and Nina Jørgensen
Specialist Prosecutor's Office
Cezary Michalczuk, Nico Baarlink
Defence Counsel
Julius von Bóné (counsel), Betim Shala (co-counsel)
Victims' Counsel
Anni Pues (counsel), Annebrecht Vossenberg (co-counsel)
Appeal judgment deliberation phase (from the parties' last submissions until the pronouncement of the appeal judgement)
1 months and 13 days
Appeal case length (the period between the filing of the notices of appeal untill the pronunciation of the appeal judgment)
10 month 12 days


 

1st Mustafa Request for Protection of Legality before Supreme Court (Case number KSC-SC-2024-02)

14/03/2024

Mustafa filed a request for protection of legality pursuant to Article 48(6)–(8) of the Law and Rule 193 of the Rules challenging the appeal judgment from 14 December 2023.

29/07/2024

Supreme Court Panel partially granted Mustafa's request and annulled the appeal judgment insofar as it related to his 22-year sentence of imprisonment. Case sent back to the Appeals Panel under Rule 194(1)(b) to consider reducing his sentence.

2nd Mustafa and 1st SPO Requests for Protection of Legality before Supreme Court (Case numbers KSC-SC-2024-03 & KSC-SC-2024-04)

9-10/12/2024

Mustafa and the Specialist Prosecutor's Office filed separate requests for protection of legality pursuant to Article 48(6)–(8) of the Law and Rule 193 of the Rules, both challenging the Court of Appeal's 10 Sep 2024 decision imposing a 15-year sentence.

25/02/2025

Supreme Court Panel dismissed both requests in their entirety, finding that neither Mustafa nor the Prosecution had demonstrated a violation of law or substantial violation of the procedures warranting protection of legality.

Supreme Court cases - composition
Supreme Court Panel 
Judges Ekaterina Trendafilova (presiding), Christine van den Wyngaert and Daniel Fransen
Specialist Prosecutor's Office
Cezary Michalczuk, Nico Baarlink
Defence Counsel
Julius von Bóné (counsel)
Victims' Counsel
Anni Pues (counsel), Annebrecht Vossenberg (co-counsel)

1st Referral to Constitutional Court (Case number KSC-CC-2024-27)

27/09/2024

Mustafa filed a referral pursuant to Article 49(3) of the Law alleging several violations of his fundamental rights across Trial, Appeal, and Supreme Court proceedings.

17/04/2025

Specialist Chamber of the Constitutional Court found no violation of the Kosovo Constitution or the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms; part of the Referral was declared inadmissible.

2nd Referral to Constitutional Court (Case number KSC-CC-2025-29)

24/04/2025

Mustafa filed a referral pursuant to Article 49(3) of the Law, claiming that his 15-year sentence was disproportionate and violated his fundamental rights.

09/07/2025

Specialist Chamber of the Constitutional Court declared the referral inadmissible, finding it did not disclose any appearance of a violation of Mustafa’s constitutional rights.

Constitutional Court cases - composition
Constitutional Court Panel 
Judges Vidar Stensland (presiding), Roumen Nenkov and Romina Incutti (KSC-CC-2024-27)
Judges Vidar Stensland (presiding), Roumen Nenkov and Piotr Hofmański (KSC-CC-2025-29)
Specialist Prosecutor's Office
Cezary Michalczuk, Nico Baarlink
Defence Counsel
Julius von Bóné (counsel)
Victims' Counsel
Anni Pues (counsel) - only for KSC-CC-2027

List of all hearings

Below you can find the list of all hearings in the Mustafa case. Please note that videos and transcripts will be added to the list as they become available. 

The audio visual recordings accessible are classified as PUBLIC and do not include portions of the hearings that are CONFIDENTIAL and/ or may contain portions of hearings that are re-classified to PUBLIC.

List of all public hearings in the Mustafa case
Date Type of hearing Video recording Transcript
28/09/2020 Initial appearance Video Transcript
05/10/2020 Status Conference Video Transcript
28/10/2020 Further appearance/Status Conference Video Transcript
14/12/2020 Status Conference Video Transcript
01/02/2021 Status Conference Video Transcript
05/03/2021 Status Conference Video Transcript
09/06/2021 Trial preparation conference Video Transcript
15/09/2021 Opening statements (SPO and Victims' Counsel) Video Transcript
20/09/2021 Trial hearing - testimony of SPO witness W03593 Video Transcript
21/09/2021 Trial hearing - testimony of SPO witness W03593 Video Transcript
22/09/2021 Trial hearing - testimony of SPO witness W03593 Video Transcript
23/09/2021 Trial hearing - testimony of SPO witnesses W03593 and W04600 Video Transcript
24/09/2021 Trial hearing - testimony of SPO witness W04600 Video Transcript
27/09/2021 Trial hearing - testimony of SPO witness W04600 Video Transcript
04/10/2021 Trial hearing - testimony of SPO witness W01679 Video Transcript
05/10/2021 Trial hearing - testimony of SPO witness W01679 Video Transcript
12/10/2021 Trial hearing - testimony of SPO witness W03594 Video Transcript
13/10/2021 Trial hearing - testimony of SPO witness W03594 Video Transcript
14/10/2021 Trial hearing - testimony of SPO witness W03594 Video Transcript
02/11/2021 Trial hearing - testimony of SPO witness W04603 Video Transcript
03/11/2021 Trial hearing - testimony of SPO witness W04603 Video Transcript
10/11/2021 Trial hearing - testimony of SPO witness W04669 Video Transcript
11/11/2021 Trial hearing - testimony of SPO witness W04669 Video Transcript
17/11/2021 Trial hearing - testimony of SPO witness W04676 Video Transcript
18/11/2021 Trial hearing - testimony of SPO witness W04676 Video Transcript
22/11/2021 Trial hearing - testimony of SPO witness W04391 Video Transcript
23/11/2021 Trial hearing - testimony of SPO witness W04391 Video Transcript
24/11/2021 Trial hearing - testimony of SPO witness W04390 Video Transcript
13/12/2021 Trial hearing - testimony of SPO witness W04674 Video Transcript
14/12/2021 Trial hearing - testimony of SPO witness W04674 Video Transcript
18/01/2022 Trial hearing - testimony of SPO witness Fatmir Sopi Video Transcript
19/01/2022 Trial hearing - testimony of SPO witness Fatmir Sopi Video Transcript
25/01/2022 Trial hearing - testimony of SPO witness Sejdi Veseli Video Transcript
01/02/2022 Trial hearing - testimony of SPO witness Fatmir Humolli Video Transcript
02/02/2022 Trial hearing - testimony of SPO witness Fatmir Humolli Video Transcript
08/03/2022 Defence preparation conference/Victims' status conference Video Transcript
09/03/2022 Defence preparation conference/Victims' status conference Video Transcript
21/03/2022 Presentation of evidence by Victim’s Counsel Video Transcript
22/03/2022 Defence opening statement Video Transcript
23/03/2022 Trial hearing - testimony of Defence witness Brahim Mehmetaj Video Transcript
24/03/2022 Trial hearing - testimony of Defence witness Brahim Mehmetaj Video Transcript
28/03/2022 Trial hearing - testimony of Defence witness Ahmet Ademi Video Transcript
29/03/2022 Trial hearing - testimony of Defence witness Jakup Ismaili Video Transcript
30/03/2022 Trial hearing - testimony of Defence witness Hazir Borovci Video Transcript
31/03/2022 Trial hearing - testimony of Defence witness Hazir Borovci Video Transcript
04/04/2022 Trial hearing - testimony of Defence witness Gani Sopi Video Transcript
05/04/2022 Trial hearing - testimony of Defence witness Bislim Nreci Video Transcript
06/04/2022 Trial hearing - testimony of Defence witness Nazmi Vrbovci Video Transcript
11/04/2022 Trial hearing - testimony of Defence witness Kapllan Parduzi Video Transcript
12/04/2022 Trial hearing - testimony of Defence witness Nuredin Ibishi Video Transcript
13/04/2022 Trial hearing - testimony of Defence witness Sheqir Rrahimi Video Transcript
20/04/2022 Trial hearing - testimony of Defence witness Musli Halimi Video Transcript
21/04/2022 Trial hearing - testimony of Defence witnesses Musli Halimi and Selatin Krasniqi  Video Transcript
22/04/2022 Trial hearing - testimony of Defence witnesses Selatin Krasniqi and Muhamet Ajeti Video Transcript
11/05/2022 Trial hearing - testimony of Defence witness Teuta Hadri Video Transcript
12/05/2022 Trial hearing - testimony of Defence witnesses Teuta Hadri and Ibadete Canolli-Kaciu Video Transcript
19/05/2022 Trial hearing - procedural matters Video Transcript
01/06/2022 Trial hearing - testimony of an SPO's rebuttal witness Video Transcript
13/09/2022 Closing statements Video Transcript
14/09/2022 Closing statements Video Transcript
15/09/2022 Closing statements Video Transcript
16/12/2022 Pronouncement of trial judgment Video Transcript
16/02/2023 Pre-Appeal Conference Video Transcript
06/04/2023 Pronouncement of the reparation order Video Transcript
26/10/2023 Appeal Hearing Video Transcript
27/10/2023 Appeal Hearing Video Transcript
14/12/2023 Appeal Judgment Video Transcript