At the Special Court in The Hague, the deadline for submitting final briefs in the trial of Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi, and Rexhep Selimi has concluded. Closing statements are scheduled from February 9 to 18, after which the court has three months to issue a first-instance verdict, with a possible extension of two months.
The submission of final briefs marks the entry of the trial into its decisive phase. After more than five years of proceedings against the former KLA leaders, the process has reached the stage of final documentation submission and evidence review.
Legal experts note that a crucial factor will be challenging and discrediting the evidence submitted by Serbia, which the defense considers fundamentally contested in terms of origin and reliability.
Accredited attorney Skender Musa emphasized that the defense must be highly argumentative at this stage, addressing not only their own evidence but also that of the prosecution, aiming to discredit the contested evidence, particularly Serbia’s.
“These documents were prepared by the Milosevic regime, which had the police and army at its disposal and the ability to falsify documents, material evidence, and video recordings. Even crimes committed by Serbian forces may have been wrongly attributed to the KLA,” he said.
According to Musa, special importance in this phase lies in the factual situation on the ground and the concrete evidence directly related to the allegations against the KLA, which the defense aims to expose as unfounded and inaccurate.
“As for the events on the ground and the factual situation, there is sufficient basis to challenge any claim in the indictment that these individuals participated, directly or by giving orders, in any alleged crime. Therefore, the defense will strike strongly on these matters,” he added.
While the trial is in its final phase for the first-instance judgment, the court is expected to rule by July 2026 at the latest. Meanwhile, on February 17, a new protest against the Special Court is scheduled in Pristina, regarding the treatment of former KLA leaders.
