Live update

During the status conference in the Thaçi et al. case today, the SPO announced that they still have 65 witnesses to call in court, along with 54 testimonies to be admitted in written form, but that this number might decrease in the future. In response to the Panel's inquiry, the SPO stated that the target date of 1 April 2025 for completing their case is achievable. They also stated that their next update on the number of witnesses will be provided by 1 November this year. The SPO expressed their aim to streamline the testimony of at least 7 witnesses, potentially turning some into written statements or excluding others altogether. Moreover, the parties talked about expediting the proceedings and discussed future aspects, such as Rule 130 motions and the length of the Victims’ Counsel's and Defence cases, if any. The Panel has also announced the modified court schedule for 21 October, when the trial will take place from 13:00 till 16:30.

The Thaçi et al. trial will resume tomorrow, 2 October, with a regular hearing scheduled to begin at 09:00.

Witness Ahmet Rrahmanaj finished giving his testimony this afternoon, and the trial has been adjourned for the day. The Panel stated that since there are no witnesses available for tomorrow, 1 October, the parties will meet for a status conference to discuss the timing and planning of the case. The status conference is scheduled to take place from 14:30 to 15:30.  

After witness W04590 finished testifying, the SPO called its next witness this morning. This is Ahmet Rrahmanaj, who, as per the SPO, was a member of the KLA military police of the "Lumi" unit during the relevant period.

Protected witness W04590 began testifying in court this morning. According to the SPO, this witness was a Kosovo Albanian civilian in 1998, when he was detained in a KLA base and subjected to mistreatment.

This is the 92nd witness in court so far.

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

The trial in the Thaçi et al. case has adjourned for the day and the week. The trial will resume on Monday, 30 September, at 09:00.

On 25 September 2024, the Specialist Chamber of the Constitutional Court (SCCC) rejected the request from the Victims’ Counsel and the SPO to extend the deadline for submitting their referrals regarding the decisions on Salih Mustafa's sentence. The SCCC was not satisfied that the two parties have shown good cause that would justify an extension beyond the time limits outlined in Rule 6 of the SCCC Rules.

After the completion of witness W04422's testimony yesterday, the SPO called their new witness this morning. This witness, with the pseudonym W04669, was, according to the SPO, arrested by certain KLA members in 1999 and then taken to a KLA compound where he was subjected to mistreatment.

Please be reminded that today's hearing will be shorter than usual. There will be a lunch break from 13:00 to 14:00, followed by the last session from 14:00 to 15:00.

Another KSC weekly press briefing will take place on Thursday, 26 September, 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.

In a public version of her decision, filed on 24 September 2024, the Single Judge in the case of Isni Kilaj rejected the Defence request to change the conditions for Isni Kilaj's release, which were set in May this year. The Defence asked for temporary variations of the current conditions to allow him to travel to Albania, but Judge Marjorie Masselot determined that the proposed variations would not sufficiently address the existing risks outlined in Article 41(6)(b) of the Law.