Ramush Haradinaj

Nasim Haradinaj in court at a previous hearing. Photo: Kosovo Specialist Chambers/Screenshot.

The plea was entered in accordance with court's regulations after Haradinaj did not appear in court.

Haradinaj's lawyer told the court that his client did not want to take part in the hearing "as a protest about the way he has been treated".

"I plead not guilty and I am completely not guilty," Hysni Gucati, the leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army War Veterans' Organisation, told the pre-trial judge during his initial appearance at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague on Friday.

The deputy leader of Kosovo Liberation Army War Veterans' Organisation, Nasim Haradinaj, who is accused of obstructing justice and intimidating witnesses, declined to enter a plea at his initial appearance at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague in Friday.

"In regards to my plea, my lawyer will speak on my behalf," Nasim Haradinaj told the pre-trial judge, Nicolas Guillou.

Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti has repeatedly stated that consultations will be held with the country's political parties to discuss choosing the next president after Hashim Thaci's resignation, but his office told BIRN that the government has not yet set a date for talks.

A pre-trial judge on Monday confirmed the indictment of Hysni Gucati and Nasim Haradinaj for "offences against the administration of justice, namely obstruction of official persons in performing official duties, intimidation of witnesses, retaliation and violation of secrecy of proceedings", the Kosovo Specialist Chambers said in a statement.

The Kosovo Specialist Prosecutor's Office on Monday urged the pre-trial judge in the case against Hashim Thaci and three other wartime Kosovo Liberation Army guerrillas, all of whom are now senior politicians, that the start of the trial should not be subjected to delays until 2022 as the defence has requested.

Former Kosovo prime minister Ramush Haradinaj is being promoted as Kosovo's possible next president after his party authorised him on Wednesday to represent it in discussions with its coalition partners on a potential reshuffle - and on who the next president should be.

Deputies of the Self-Determination movement Vetvendosje and deputies of the Democratic Alliance of Kosovo did not vote today for the Draft Law on Protection of KLA War Values, Kosovo online reports.
Only 35 deputies voted in favor of the law, while one was against.

It was abolished in 2018 on the order of then Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj. The decision stated that instead of the institute, a Department of Transitional Justice would be established as part of the Justice Ministry. But this never happened.

Among those called in for interviews have been prominent political figures like Ramush Haradinaj, head of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, AAK party, who resigned as prime minister when he was summoned, and the former speaker of the Kosovo Assembly, Kadri Veseli, who is head of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK.