The main suspect in the triple murder that took place yesterday in Gjilan, Mefail Shkodra, had been released in October of last year after being convicted for usury.
The reason for his release was clarified by the Basic Court of Prishtina for Klankosova.tv.
In a written response, the court stated that he and his son Edonis, who was also arrested in this case, had offered a parcel of land with two constructed buildings that fulfilled the bail requirement requested by the Kosovo Special Prosecution — an amount of €70,000 total, €50,000 for Mefail and €20,000 for Edonis.
Full explanation from the Basic Court:
We inform you that the Basic Court of Prishtina, Special Department, on June 21, 2024, received a request from the Special Prosecution of the Republic of Kosovo to impose pre-trial detention measures against the accused M.Sh. and E.Sh., due to well-founded suspicion that they committed the criminal offense of Usury under Article 331, Paragraph 3 in connection with Paragraph 1 and Article 31 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kosovo (KPRK), and the criminal offense of Coercion under Article 328, Paragraph 2 in connection with Paragraph 1 of the KPRK.
On June 21, 2024, the preliminary procedure judge held a hearing and issued a ruling imposing pre-trial detention on the accused M.Sh. and E.Sh. for one month each, due to the well-founded suspicion of committing the offenses of Usury and Coercion.
On July 15, 2024, the Special Department received a request from the Special Prosecution to extend the pre-trial detention for M.Sh. and E.Sh., due to the suspicion of committing the crimes of Usury, Coercion, Participation or Organization of a Criminal Group (Article 277, Paragraph 2 connected to Paragraph 1 of KPRK), and Unauthorized Import, Export, Supply, Transport, Production, Exchange, Mediation, or Sale of Weapons or Explosives (Article 364, Paragraph 1 of KPRK). On July 18, 2024, the preliminary procedure judge approved this request, extending pre-trial detention for two more months for each defendant, counted from July 21, 2024, to September 21, 2024.
On September 12, 2024, the Basic Court received another request from the Special Prosecution for further extension of pre-trial detention for the accused. On September 19, 2024, the preliminary procedure judge approved the extension for an additional two months, counted until November 21, 2024.
On October 8, 2024, the Basic Court received a proposal from the Special Prosecution to replace the pre-trial detention with bail for the accused M.Sh. and E.Sh. (Bail was proposed in the amount of €50,000 for M.Sh. and €20,000 for E.Sh.).
The preliminary procedure judge approved the proposal on October 8, 2024, obliging the accused to mortgage the cadastral unit where two buildings stand, with a total value of €354,000, securing the bail amount of €70,000 requested by the Special Prosecution for M.Sh. and E.Sh.
For your information, the Basic Court of Prishtina — Special Department has not received an indictment from the Special Prosecution regarding the criminal case against M.Sh. and E.Sh., and since this case is still in the pre-trial phase and under investigation, for more details you may contact the Special Prosecution.
