The Appeals Court of Albania on Tuesday released former member of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) Dritan Goxhaj, after dismissing the extradition request to the Specialized Chambers in Kosovo.
Goxhaj had been arrested in Albania on July 31, as reported by the Specialized Chambers based in The Hague.
On Tuesday, the Appeals Court of Albania announced that it had decided to overturn the lower court’s decision and ordered his “immediate release”.
Goxhaj was arrested on July 31, 2023 in Tirana, Albania.
According to the announcement, Goxhaj was apprehended based on an arrest warrant related to criminal offenses involving the obstruction of justice, including acts of intimidation and interference with official individuals performing their duties.
The Specialized Chambers, also known as the Special Court, confirmed that the arrest was carried out in collaboration with Albanian authorities.
This marked the first instance of the Special Court executing an arrest within Albanian territory.
According to a statement from the Tirana Prosecutor’s Office, Goxhaj was arrested based on a letter of assistance to the Special Prosecutor’s Office.
Sources indicated that Goxhaj was under suspicion for disclosing the identities of witnesses in several criminal cases initiated following the Kosovo war.
Goxhaj previously served as an escort for U.S. troops during the Kosovo war in 1998-99. He joined the KLA as an officer of the Albanian Army and held authorization from the General Staff to liaise with the U.S. military command in Albania.
He is the son of Dilaver Goxhaj, a military officer who voluntarily joined the KLA at the request of the KLA General Staff. Dilaver Goxhaj was entrusted with the position of Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the KLA and, with NATO’s involvement in the conflict, was assigned the role of liaison officer with NATO.
In 2015, the Kosovo Assembly passed the Law on the Special Court, which operates under Kosovo law but within the territory of the Netherlands. The institution consists of foreign prosecutors and judges.
The Specialized Chambers and the Office of the Special Prosecutor 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 legal cases are underway at the Specialized Chambers, including the case against former KLA leaders Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi, and Rexhep Selimi, who are facing charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
