The Supreme Court has rejected as unfounded a request for the protection of legality submitted by the defense lawyer of the defendant R.M., which challenged the decisions of the Basic Court in Pristina and the Court of Appeals.
Through those decisions, the lower courts had extended the defendant’s pre-trial detention for two (2) months due to reasonable suspicion that he committed the criminal offense of war crimes against the civilian population.
The Supreme Court assessed that there is a legal basis for the continuation of detention due to the risk of the defendant fleeing, considering the circumstances of the case. These include the fact that the defendant has changed several residential addresses, has permanent residence outside Kosovo, and holds dual citizenship, which could facilitate avoiding criminal prosecution—especially given the lack of legal cooperation between Kosovo and the other country.
The Supreme Court also concluded that the claims of violations of the European Convention on Human Rights and the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo are unfounded, since the detention was ordered by a competent court in accordance with legal provisions, while the criminal proceedings are still in the initial stage.
