Live update

On 7 April 2025, the Pre-Trial Judge in the case against Thaçi et al. for charges related to the administration of justice issued a decision on Smakaj’s Defence application for a stay of proceedings. The Defence sought a stay, claiming that the SPO failed to disclose relevant information to the Pre-Trial Judge during the indictment confirmation process. Judge Marjorie Masselot rejected the Defence application, finding that the criteria for a permanent stay of proceedings had not been met. Specifically, Judge Masselot concluded, among other things, that the SPO did not violate its obligations by not including a specific witness interview in the material supporting the indictment, as this interview will be addressed at trial in light of the Parties’ arguments and evidence as a whole.

Last week, a decision was made public regarding the victims’ reparations in the Salih Mustafa case. Single Judge Bitti issued his ruling on a  request from a participating victim in this case to waive any reparation payment. Judge Bitti noted that no payment will be made to this person but he found that this waiver will not change the terms of the Reparation Order. However, since the reparations have not yet been fully paid to the remaining victims, Judge Bitti deemed it appropriate to distribute the amount that would have been paid to the waived victim among the remaining victims on a proportional (pro rata) basis.

More details are available in the decision.

On 3 April 2025, the Court of Appeals Panel granted one ground of the SPO appeal against the Pre-Trial Judge’s decision on the confirmation of the indictment. The SPO challenged the Pre-Trial Judge’s interpretation of Article 32(3) of the Kosovo Criminal Code arguing that she incorrectly excluded Hashim Thaçi’s liability for incitement under this article, based on a misinterpretation of sentencing requirements. By majority, Judge Jørgensen dissenting,  the Appeals Panel agreed with the SPO, ruling that Article 32(3) applies to crimes for which the sentencing range includes or exceeds five years, even if not the minimum sentence. Consequently, the Panel remanded the matter to the Pre-Trial Judge for further consideration. The Panel dismissed the other three grounds of appeal raised by the SPO.

Here is the full decision.

Here is the transcript of today's KSC Weekly Press Briefing.

Another KSC weekly press briefing will take place on Thursday, 3 April, at 14:30. During this briefing, the KSC Spokespersons will provide a short update on the latest developments in the judicial proceedings before the KSC, as well as on other public activities of the Court. Journalists will have the opportunity to ask questions. Pre-registration is required to attend each briefing. To pre-register, please send an email with name and affiliation to mediaKSC@scp-ks.org. Deadline for pre-registration is every Thursday at 12:00. The Zoom details will be shared following pre-registration. Recordings of the update provided during the Weekly Press Briefings will be made available on the KSC YouTube Channel.

Please be informed that the next Status Conference in the case against Thaci, Veseli, Selimi and Krasniqi is scheduled for 23 April 2025 at 10:00.

The Court of Appeals Panel today, 1 April, scheduled an appeal hearing in the Pjetër Shala case for Thursday and Friday, 15 and 16 May 2025. The Panel also specified the schedule for both hearings, so the court will convene, subject to adjustments as appropriate, from 13:30 until 17:10 on 15 May and from 10:00 until 11:35 on 16 May. More details are available in the scheduling order.

On 28 March 2025, the Court of Appeals Panel dismissed the motion by P. Shala for additional evidence. In particular, the Defence requested to call Sokol Dobruna as its witness and to have the transcripts and notes related to his testimonies in other cases and interviews admitted as additional evidence pursuant to Rule 181 of the Rules.

The Panel evaluated the proposed evidence and deemed it sufficiently credible but it found that it was available at trial or discoverable through the exercise of due diligence. Additionally, the Panel assessed the impact of this evidence and concluded that it would not have affected the trial judgment had it been admitted at trial. Consequently, the Panel denied the Defence’s motion.

 More details are available in the decision.

This morning, the Panel announced that the Prosecution's witness W04747 was supposed to provide testimony today. However, since he was unable to appear, the SPO sought to have the witness's written statement entered into evidence in accordance with Rule 155 of the Rules. Subsequently, the proceedings moved into a private session before resuming with specific oral orders related to the evidence, after which the hearing was concluded for the day.

The rest of the hearings this week are cancelled and the trial is adjourned till further notice.

The Prosecution’s 125^th witness W04419 completed the testimony this afternoon, after which the trial adjourned for today and for the week. The trial will resume on Tuesday, 1 April, at 09:00.