Kadri Veseli

Abelard Tahiri, the head of Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK's parliamentary group, called on Thursday for the dismissal of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Donika Gervalla because she said in 2016 that she was willing to provide evidence material to the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague.

The prosecution at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague has asked the pre-trial judge to dismiss the defence's motions challenging the indictment of former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and three other former Kosovo Liberation Army guerrillas turned politicians, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi.

The Atlantic Association, an organisation representing Albanian-Americans who describe themselves as "proud former KLA [Kosovo Liberation Army] soldiers", sent a letter to US President Joe Biden on Wednesday urging him to intervene to shift the Hague-based Kosovo Specialist Chambers war crimes court to Kosovo itself.

The Belgian authorities on Tuesday detained Pjeter Shala, a former Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA member after the Kosovo Specialist Chambers called for his arrest on war crimes charges.

"Pjeter Shala will be detained in Belgium, pending any transfer to the detention facility of the KSC [Kosovo Specialist Chambers] in The Hague," said a statement issued by Specialist Chambers.

Hashim Thaci's defence has filed a motion calling on the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague to dismiss the indictment charging him with committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, and claiming that the court has exceeded its jurisdiction.

Gani Koci, a former Kosovo Liberation Army guerrilla turned politician, announced on Facebook on Thursday that he has been summoned as a witness by the Specialist Prosecutor's Office in The Hague, which is probing wartime and post-war crimes in Koosvo.

Lawyers for former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and three other former Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA guerrilla leaders accused the prosecution at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague on Tuesday of hindering the defence's efforts to prepare its case by not properly disclosing evidence.

Shehu is one of scores of Albanian army officers who joined the Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA in its war against the Yugoslav Army and Serbian police and paramilitaries in 1999.

The Kosovo Liberation Army War Veterans' Organisation branch in the town of Has said on Tuesday evening that former guerrilla Nezir Cocaj, who is running for re-election as an MP next month, has been called for questioning by the Specialist Prosecutor's Office in The Hague.

A poster in Pristina in July 2020 describing Thaci and Veseli as heroes. Photo: EPA-EFE/VALDRIN XHEMAJ.