Justice in Kosovo Monthly Bulletin

Transcription

1 Justice in Kosovo Monthly Bulletin No. 24, November 2012 Since September 2010, BIRN and Internews Kosova have been publishing the monthly Justice in Kosovo bulletin, which contains information about the Court Monitoring Project and its outcomes. The information provided has been collected by BIRN observers in Kosovo s courts and focuses on the overall functioning of the judicial system, as well as court reform in the country. This Newsletter also includes analysis and research of related issues previously published in the Gazeta Jeta në Kosovë online portal. Drejtësia në Kosovë (Justice in Kosovo) Page1of 7

2 Contents 1. Kleçka case returned for retrial, Limaj and others held in detention Part of the Kaçaniku Group is released Bulatovic acquitted of war crimes Indictment against Prishtina municipal official confirmed Bllaca II case judgment expected Hearing adjourned due to a technical error A judge failing to keep minutes Indictment not read in criminal hearing Witness s details not taken... 7 Drejtësia në Kosovë (Justice in Kosovo) Page2of 7

3 1. Kleçka case returned for retrial, Limaj and others held in detention In the late hours of November 24, the presiding judge in Prishtina District Court, Dariusz Sielicki, reviewed a request from special prosecutor Maurizio Salustro that Fatmir Limaj and three other defendants be detained. On the other hand, the prosecution s request for the detention of the four men was rejected previously from the Supreme Court which, concluded that it is not competent to impose such a measure in this matter. This request was upheld, and Judge Sielicki issued a decision to place Fatmir Limaj, Naser Shala, Naser Krasniqi and Nexhmi Krasniqi in detention for one month. The reason given was that the defendants may run away from justice and/or influence available evidence. Two days later, defence attorneys filed complaints against the decision. However, the Supreme Court rejected their call to dismiss the detention measure, agreeing that detention was in line with the law. Several days earlier, on November 20, the Supreme Court had received a complaint from the Special Prosecution, through the State Prosecutor, against the acquittal of Fatmir Limaj and his three fellow fighters in the Kleçka case, which called for the case to be returned for retrial. In its decision, the Court concluded that the testimonies and diary of the main witness, the late Agim Zogaj, who is also known as X, are admissible. Zogaj was found dead on September 27, 2011, in Duisburg, Germany. In his reasoning, presiding judge Gerrit- Marc Sprenger stated that the district court had mixed the admissibility, sustainability and reliability of witness X s testimonies. According to the judge, the defence had had the opportunity to question and confront the witness on his testimony before the prosecutor. In addition, the Court stated that Zogaj had not signed his statements, but had done so after the prosecution had read his testimony. Finally, evidence confiscated from the houses of Naser Krasniqi and Fatmir Limaj, in a raid for a case brought by the Ministry of Transport, were declared admissible for use in Kleçka case. 2. Part of the Kaçaniku Group is released Hearings in the Kaçaniku Group case continued in November. The case deals with a triple murder committed on September 27 and 28, 2007, at Lepenci Bridge, near Soponicë village in Ferizaj. Drejtësia në Kosovë (Justice in Kosovo) Page3of 7

4 The case is under trial before local and EULEX judges, with Reshat Millaku serving as the case prosecutor. Prishtina District Court found the defendants, Nysret Cena, Agron Dalloshi and Afet Dalloshi, not guilty. Agron and Afet Dalloshi, accused of aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder, were found not guilty on grounds of insufficient evidence beyond reasonable doubt. Nysret Cena was acquitted of aggravated murder and attempted murder, as there was a final decision issued by the Supreme Court of Kosovo finding him not guilty. The panel reasoned its decision that there were insufficient evidences for aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder to find the defendants guilty, and that in case of any doubts, the interpretation favours the defendants. 3. Bulatovic acquitted of war crimes Prishtina District Court, on November 23, rendered a judgment of acquittal for Aleksandar Bulatovic, who had been charged with war crimes against the civilian population in April 1999 in Fushë Kosovë. This decision was reached due to insufficient evidence. Bulatovic s trial had started on November 5, 2012, following the confirmation of the indictment at Prishtina District Court on October 3, Bulatovic, his brother Predrag, Miroslav Pavllovic, and other unknown persons, were accused by the Special Prosecution of Kosovo of severely injuring and subsequently killing Xheladin Idrizi. The victim s remains were found in Vragoli village in Fushë Kosovë. The presiding judge, Viktor Pardal, in a brief statement, laid out several reasons why the court had decided to acquit the defendant. All of the evidence presented before the court was [in the form of] witnesses, and none of them described the allegations in the indictment, he said. He also added that it is not the court s obligation to rewrite history. We now only take into account evidence. Centuries ago, people were burned as witches only because someone said something about another. Drejtësia në Kosovë (Justice in Kosovo) Page4of 7

5 4. Indictment against Prishtina municipal official confirmed Six officials from Prishtina s municipal government are expected to appear before a trial panel in Prishtina District Court, on trial for abusing their official positions/ authority, in co-perpetration. On November 6, the court confirmed the indictment filed against Ekrem Rexha, formerly a manager in the Procurement Office; Ridvan Shahini, the Director for Local Infrastructure; and four other officials from the latter directorate, Refik Sadiku, Halil Fejziu, Hazir Krasniqi and Qazim Bajrami. There is evidence and [a number of] facts supporting a well-grounded suspicion that the defendants have committed such offences, concluded the confirmation judge, Vehbi Kashtanjeva. There are no circumstances excluding criminal liability of the defendants or preventing prosecution. According to the indictment, defendants Rexha, Sadiku, Fejziu, Krasniqi and Bajrami who were all members of the Performance Supervision Body for the contract dealing with the construction of a rainwater harvesting collector over the River Prishtina in Kalabria Street aimed to make illegal gains for a private company, Çlirimi, from Korisha, Prizren, and exceeded their official authorisations, and acting in breach of the Public Procurement Law. In addition, according to the indictment, Ridvan Shahini requested the payment of 848,712 euro to Çlirimi, as part of the contract, in contradiction of the law. However, the confirmation hearing for the indictment, which was filed in June 2011, failed to be convened three consecutive times. 5. Bllaca II case judgment expected In November, the testimony of Nazim Bllaca was heard for the second time, after the defence presented alibis rejecting Bllaca s allegations. In his last statement, Bllaca confirmed that everything he had testified previously about the defendants and the commission of crimes was true. He told how Shaban Syla was involved in the attempted murder of Adem Salihaj on June 12, 2000, at which time Shpresim Uka was with Bllaca in another car. During the hearing, the defence inquired about Bllaca s health at the time. The witness replied that he had received medical treatment from psychiatrist Fatmir Xhelili, and that he was sent there by Shpresim Uka and Fahredin Gashi. Drejtësia në Kosovë (Justice in Kosovo) Page5of 7

6 This month, the court also heard the testimony of the late Ibush Kllokoqi s brother, Alishan Kllokoqi. He described his brother s murder in the entrance of his yard by unknown persons. After the witnesses, testimonies were also given by the defendants. Their testimonies corresponded with those given to the police and prosecution. This month, the district court also closed the evidence procedure, and, in coordination with the parties, set the time for the submission of final remarks, and the date for the issuance of the judgement. The latter is expected on December 17, Hearing adjourned due to a technical error The District Prosecution in Prishtina filed an indictment against Astrit Haraqia and Valton Beqiri, for the criminal offence of abusing an official position and authority, and against Armond Morina and Nehat Fejza for fraud. They are accused for entering into illegal contracts with two film companies, Concordia Pictures and Morina Films, costing the country s budget around 390,000 euro. On November 5, 2012, Prishtina District Court held an indictment confirmation hearing. At the beginning, the attorney for defendants Armond Morina and Arianit Koci informed the pre-trial judge, Hava Haliti, that he had noticed technical errors in the section on reasoning in the indictment. Koci proposed that the hearing be adjourned due to an omission in his copy. The prosecutor, Drita Hajdari, objected to this proposal. She admitted that the attorney s copy of the indictment contained technical errors in the reasoning, but the other sections were without errors. According to the prosecutor, the attorney s request was only intended to prolong the case and delay it as much as possible. Koci s attorney reiterated that he was not able to prepare his statement due to the errors in the indictment, which he had received on the previous Friday and noticed the error in the evening, and had not been able to contact the prosecutor over the weekend. Koci s attorney was supported by other lawyers of other defendants, according to whom it is necessary that their colleague comes prepared. As a result, the judge adjourned the hearing until November 30, warning all parties that this will be the last adjournment. 7. A judge failing to keep minutes Criminal case P.nr:218/08, dealing with the criminal offence of aggravated theft, was scheduled to be held at 13:00 by Judge Besarta Doli in Gjakova Municipal Court. Drejtësia në Kosovë (Justice in Kosovo) Page6of 7

7 However, the presiding judge did not go ahead with the hearing, as the police were unable to find and apprehend the defendant in \the case. The hearing was also not attended by the prosecutor, Ali Selimaj, even though he had been duly informed. Judge Dogli failed to specify the absences and their justifications in the minutes, in contravention of the Criminal Procedure Code of Kosovo Indictment not read in criminal hearing A hearing for the criminal trial P.nr:141/11, for the offence of endangering public traffic, was held in Peja District Court. The trial panel, presided over by judge Lumturije Muhaxheri, began the trial 20 minutes late. After opening the hearing and ascertaining the parties in the minutes, the presiding judge informed the parties that there had been a change in the trial panel and that the session must be started all over. For this reason, the presiding judge took the defendants personal details again, and read their rights and obligations as defendants. Muhaxheri said that, since this was a continuation of other hearings, there was no need to read the entire indictment again. However, she asked the defendant to give their plea. With this, the presiding judge breached Article 357, 2 as she did not continue the hearing with the reading of the indictment, but rather with the taking of pleas. Finally, the hearing was adjourned due to an expert failing to arrive. 9. Witness s details not taken A hearing for criminal trial P.nr:310/12, for the offences of murder and unauthorised ownership, control, possession, or use of weapons, was held in Peja District Court. The trial panel, presided over by judge Gëzim Pozhegu, started the session on time. During the session, the prosecutor and both lawyers used their mobile phones. During the evidence procedures, several witnesses were heard. The last witness to be heard was read their rights and obligations, but his personal details were not taken, as required by the Criminal Procedure Code. 3 1 Article 339 The presiding judge shall open the session and announce the case to be tried at the main trial and the composition of the trial panel. He or she shall then determine whether all the persons summoned have appeared and, if they have not, he or she shall check whether they were served with a summons and whether the absent persons have justified their absence. Article 348 (1) A record must be made in writing of the proceedings of the main trial. The entire course of the main trial in its essentials must be entered in this record. 2 Article 357 (1) The main trial shall open with the reading of the indictment or the private charge. 3 Article 164 (3) Subsequently, the witness shall be asked to state his or her first name and surname, the name of his or her father and mother, personal identity number, occupation, place of current residence, place of birth, age and relation to the defendant and the injured party. The witness shall be warned of the obligation to report to the court any change in address or place of current residence. Drejtësia në Kosovë (Justice in Kosovo) Page7of 7