The Ministry of Justice of Kosovo has denied reports that it has failed to fulfill obligations regarding payments to the defense team of former leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army, Hashim Thaçi, who is being tried before the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, based in The Hague.
The Ministry of Justice stated that in accordance with the current legislation regarding payment or compensation to defense teams of accused individuals in The Hague, it only makes payments to the lawyers with whom it has agreements.
“Currently, the Ministry of Justice has an agreement with Hashim Thaçi’s defense attorney, Luka Misetic, to whom, in accordance with the agreement, it makes all payments on time. Meanwhile, for other potential lawyers, even private ones, engaged by Mr. Thaçi, the Ministry of Justice has no agreements and does not bear responsibility for fulfilling the payments,” the Ministry said.
On January 19 of this year, Gregory Kehoe, on behalf of the defense team of the former president of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi, who is being tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity, through a submission, stated that the former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) commander “has failed to fulfill obligations” regarding payments, therefore the lawyers have warned that they will withdraw if these obligations are not met.
However, the Ministry of Justice rejected these claims by the lawyers, stating that it has made payments for Thaçi’s defense for the years 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023, in a total amount exceeding 3.5 million euros.
“Furthermore, just for the year 2023, the Ministry of Justice made payments for Mr. Hashim Thaçi’s defenders in the amount of 1,371,800.00 euros,” the Ministry’s announcement said.
In 2015, the Kosovo Assembly passed a law enabling the establishment of the Specialist Chambers in The Hague. Along with it, lawmakers also approved a law stipulating that every potential accused from the Specialist Chambers is entitled to financial assistance and coverage of defense expenses.
However, with the administrative directive No. 02/2020, dated July 24, 2020, signed by the then Minister of Justice, Selim Selimi, it is stipulated that the financial coverage of lawyers is based on tariffs set by the Kosovo Bar Association; tariffs for lawyers in the Netherlands; state tariffs from where the defender comes; and tariffs for legal defense of the potential accused of the Specialist Chambers.
All accused individuals or their authorized representatives must submit an official request for the coverage of legal defense expenses. These expenses may include all services provided by the defense team, including office expenses and phone calls.
In addition to covering legal representation expenses, the state also pays for all expenses related to visits by family members of individuals accused by the Specialist Chambers. This category includes spouses, children, parents, siblings, and sisters.
The trial against Hashim Thaçi and other former KLA commanders, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi, and Jakup Krasniqi, began in April 2023. They were arrested in 2020 and have been in pre-trial detention in The Hague since then. All have pleaded not guilty to charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The Specialist Chambers or Specialist Prosecutor’s Office investigate alleged crimes by members of the Kosovo Liberation Army against ethnic minorities and political rivals from January 1998 to December 2000.
The court was established in 2015 by the Kosovo Assembly and is part of Kosovo’s judicial system but operates with international personnel and is headquartered in The Hague.
In addition to the trial against Thaçi and other former commanders involved in a joint case, the Specialist Chambers in The Hague is currently conducting a trial against Pjetër Shala, accused of alleged war crimes.
For war crimes, the Specialist Chambers has so far issued a first-instance judgment against Salih Mustafa, sentenced to 22 years in prison.
The court also conducts trials for administration of justice offenses, for which two guilty verdicts have been issued so far.
