Live update

Having reviewed the new plea agreement between the SPO and Bahtijari’s Defence, the Panel issued an oral order in court today finding that it complies with the requirements of Rule 94 (2) of the Rules. Therefore, the Panel scheduled a hearing for Thursday, 19 December, at 13:00, to discuss Bahtijari’s new plea agreement with the SPO. The schedule for this hearing will follow the agenda specified in paragraph 20 of the last scheduling order for Januzi and H. Shala. The Registry was instructed to reclassify the plea agreement as public as soon as possible.

Please be informed that the streaming of the plea agreement hearing, scheduled to commence at 09:00 this morning, will be broadcast with a delay of 45 minutes. Click here to watch the live stream in English.

Today, 17 December 2024, the first status conference in the case against Thaçi, Smakaj, Kilaj, Fazliu, and Kuçi took place before Pre-Trial Judge Marjorie Masselot. In accordance with the scheduling order, the hearing provided an opportunity for the accused Thaçi and Smakaj to enter their pleas. Since they opted not to do so today, Judge Masselot reiterated her previous ruling in the scheduling order, inviting them to place their pleas, in written form, by 7 January 2025 at noon. Should this not be completed by the specified deadline, Judge Masselot will enter a plea of not guilty on their behalf on that same date. 

Two separate plea agreements were made public today, 17 December, in which Sabit Januzi and Haxhi Shala each admit guilt to one charge of obstructing official persons in performing official duties, and one charge of intimidation in criminal proceedings. The Trial Panel has scheduled a hearing on the plea agreements for 18 December, starting at 09:00, with 19 December also reserved if necessary.

 A plea agreement between Ismet Bahtijari and the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office has not yet been made public.

More details in the Press Release.

On 16 December 2024, Trial Panel II issued a new decision on victims' participation in the Thaçi et al. case. One applicant was admitted to the proceedings as a participating victim, will be included in the existing group of victims and shall be represented by the same Victims' Counsel. The Panel mentioned in its decision that the deadline for submitting applications for victim participation in this case had passed on 15 February 2023. However, finding there is a good cause, the Panel accepted this application even though it was submitted after the deadline.

This brings the total number of participating victims in this case to 154. More details are available in the public redacted version of the decision here.

Here is the transcript of today's KSC Weekly Press Briefing.

Another KSC weekly press briefing will take place on Thursday, 12 December, at 14:30. During this briefing, the KSC Spokespersons will provide a short update on the latest developments in the judicial proceedings before the KSC, as well as on other public activities of the Court. Journalists will have the opportunity to ask questions. Pre-registration is required to attend each briefing. To pre-register, please send an email with name and affiliation to [email protected]. Deadline for pre-registration is every Thursday at 12:00. The Zoom details will be shared following pre-registration. Recordings of the update provided during the Weekly Press Briefings will be made available on the KSC YouTube Channel.

On 10 and 11 December 2024, respectively, KSC President Trendafilova assigned Supreme Court Panels to review requests for protection of legality filed by Salih Mustafa and the SPO.

The same panel, consisting of Judges Ekaterina Trendafilova (Presiding), Christine van den Wyngaert, and Daniel Fransen, will decide on these requests, both of which challenge the Court of Appeals' decision from 10 September of this year that imposed a new 15-year prison sentence on Mustafa.

As already mentioned in court during the initial appearances, the status conference in the case against Thaçi, Smakaj, Kilaj, Fazliu and Kuçi is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, 17 December 2024, at 14:00.

In the scheduling order, Judge Masselot, inter alia, invited Thaçi and Smakaj to enter their pleas during that hearing, if they wish. Should the accused choose not to enter pleas on 17 December, Judge Masselot has indicated her intention to request that they place their pleas on the record by 7 January 2025. In accordance with Rule 95 of the Rules, the Pre-Trial Judge will subsequently enter a plea of not guilty on their behalf if the accused choose not to place their plea on the record by this time.

Please be informed that the videos of all initial appearances in the case against Thaçi, Smakaj, Kilaj, Fazliu and Kuçi  from 8 and 9 December are now available in all three languages on our Youtube channel.