The former superior of the Kosovo Liberation Army, Haxhi Shala, pleaded guilty on Wednesday before the Special Court in The Hague to the charge of witness intimidation and obstruction of justice.
He made this statement as part of a plea agreement with the Specialized Prosecutor's Office, where he also agreed to a prison sentence of up to three years.
This prosecutor accuses Shala of committing the crime in collaboration with Sabit Januzi and Ismet Bahtijar.
"When I pleaded not guilty, I was not interviewed by the Prosecutor's Office and I was not informed about what it was about. Now I plead guilty to what is stated in the plea agreement", said Shala in the Court, whose indictment was confirmed after review on July 10, 2024.
Within this agreement, a sentence of up to three years of imprisonment is proposed for Shala, in which the time spent in detention is also counted.
Shala was arrested on December 11, 2023, and a day later was transferred to the detention center in The Hague.
In the event that the judicial panel accepts this agreement of the parties and in the event that the sentence for Shala will be three years in prison or less, the parties will not have the right to appeal.
"The lower the sentence, the better", Shala also said during his statement in court.
Shala also agreed to other points of the plea agreement and stated that he reached it "of his own free will and without coercion".
The court is expected to examine the plea agreement of Sabi Januz later in the day.
On the other hand, Ismet Bahtijari reached a similar plea agreement, according to the December 18 announcement. This agreement is expected to be reviewed by the court in a session on December 19.
What does the plea agreement of Haxhi Shala say?
Within Shala's agreement, it is stated that in the period between April 5 and 12, 2023, Shala, along with Sabit Januzi and Ismet Bahtijar, contacted a witness.
Further, according to the agreement, it is said that members of the group visited the witness's home and were offered benefits in exchange for withdrawing his testimony.
According to the Prosecution, the group offense was committed under Shala's directive.
Until now, it has not been made public which witness it is about or in which case he testified.
Previously, Shala had pleaded not guilty to this charge, which was confirmed on December 4, 2023.
The Specialized Chambers of Kosovo have so far announced two verdicts for obstruction in the administration of justice.
Two former figures of the KLA Veterans Organization, Hysni Gucati and Nasim Haradinaj, have been convicted for obstructing justice until now.
Meanwhile, on December 6, 2024, the Special Court in The Hague confirmed a new indictment against the former president of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi, as well as against four other persons for criminal offenses related to "allegations of illegal attempts to influence the testimony of witnesses in the war crimes trial Thaçi and others".
The Specialized Chambers of Kosovo said that the indictment was confirmed against Hashim Thaçi, the former Minister of Justice, Hajredin Kuçi, the former head of the Kosovo Intelligence Agency, Bashkim Smakaj, the former mayor of Malisheva, Isni Kilaj, and Fadil Fazliu.
Meanwhile, the Special Court has also pronounced two verdicts for war crimes.
The Special Court was established in 2015 by the Assembly of Kosovo and is part of the judicial system of Kosovo, but operates with international personnel and is headquartered in The Hague.
The Specialized Chambers and the Specialized Prosecutor's Office investigate alleged crimes committed by members of the Kosovo Liberation Army against ethnic minorities and political rivals from January 1998 to December 2000.
Currently, several court cases are being developed in the Specialized Chambers, including the case against the former leaders of the KLA - Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi - who are accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity./ REL (A2 Televizion)
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