Live update

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

Please be informed that the complete English transcript of the trial hearing held on 16 July, which includes the oral ruling regarding the Rule 130 Defence motion, is now accessible in our Public Court Records.

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

On 16 July 2025, Single Judge Bitti issued a decision regarding the enforcement of the Reparation Order against Salih Mustafa. The Judge found that Mustafa had failed to comply with his obligations under the Reparation Order and ruled that an interest rate would accrue on the unpaid reparation amount. This interest will apply from the date the decision is notified to Mustafa and will continue until the Reparation Order is fully implemented.
 
The Judge also directed the Registrar to submit annual reports on this matter, starting one year from the notification date and continuing each year thereafter. This reporting obligation will remain in effect until the full reparation amount and interest are paid.
 
This decision follows the Single Judge’s earlier findings from 16 December 2024, made public on 15 July 2025, which addressed Mustafa’s prior non-compliance with the Reparation Order and can be accessed here.

Today's hearing has been adjourned following the Defence's and the Panel's examination of the expert witnesses called by the Victims' Counsel. The trial is adjourned for the week and the next hearing in this case is the status conference scheduled for 22 July.

On 16 July 2025, the Defence teams for Hashim Thaçi and Jakup Krasniqi informed the Trial Panel that they intend to present a Defence case. The Defence teams for Kadri Veseli and Rexhep Selimi notified  that they do not intend to present any Defence evidence.

This morning, Defence teams continued the cross-examination of expert witnesses called by the Victims’ Counsel. At present, the Defence team for Hashim Thaçi is conducting its cross-examination.

Following the delivery of the Panel’s Rule 130 decision, the Victims’ Counsel commenced the presentation of evidence this morning. The two witnesses called are expert witnesses, Karin Duhne-Prinsen and Dr Catherine Nicola Black, who are providing testimony on the psychiatric/psychological harm to victims in this case.

During today’s hearing, Trial Panel II rejected the joint Defence motion for dismissal  of charges pursuant to Rule 130 of the Rules. According to the Panel, the Defence motion challenged only one aspect of the SPO case—namely, whether an armed conflict existed in Kosovo before the end of May 1998 and following 20 June 1999. The Panel concluded that, according to the Rules, it lacks authority to dismiss such questions at this stage and added that the questions regarding the temporal scope of the armed conflict will be addressed in the final judgment.

The KSC will provide the full video and/or transcript of today’s hearing, including the Panel’s oral decision, as soon as possible.
 

On 14 July 2025, the President of the Specialist Chambers, Judge Ekaterina Trendafilova, dismissed a request by Haxhi Shala for conditional release, filed confidentially and ex-parte on 26 June 2025. The President found Shala is not yet eligible for consideration of sentence modification or alteration under the Law, as he has not served two-thirds of his sentence. The decision also stated that the application of Article 90 of the Kosovo Criminal Code before the Specialist Chambers, as submitted by Shala, cannot be sustained with further reasoning provided in the decision itself.