Defence, Prosecution Tussle in Kosovo War Veterans’ Leaders’ Case

Lawyers for the leader and deputy leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army War Veterans' Organisation, Hysni Gucati and Nasim Haradinaj, accused the prosecution at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague on Wednesday of having a "negligent and contemptuous attitude" that was making the defence's job harder .

Gucati's lawyer, Jonathan Elystan Rees, claimed that the prosecution has made the defence's work difficult by not properly categorising evidence material and not providing a proper witness list, which was important for a "fair and efficient trial".

"We have received 3,000 pages of material since January 4… not categorised… [and] there are even 100 hours of video footage… We have to interview every person who has played an important role," Rees insisted.

The prosecution argued however that it has fulfilled its obligations, and that interviewing "all witnesses in this case" is not one of them.

Gucati and Haradinaj are charged with obstructing justice and intimidating witnesses after batches of confidential case files from the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, which was set up to try former KLA guerrillas, were leaked to them, and both men urged media in Kosovo to publish the material.

The indictment alleges that Gucati and Haradinaj "revealed, without authorisation" lawfully protected information, and that they identified "details of certain (potential) witnesses". Witness protection is a key issue for the Hague court after serious problems in previous trials of KLA ex-guerrillas.

In January, the pre-trial judge entered a not guilty plea for Haradinaj, after he boycotted the pre-trial hearing, and Gucati pleaded not guilty in December.

The defence also argued on Wednesday that measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19...

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