Live update

The testimony of the Prosecution witness Bislim Zyrapi continued this morning. The Trial Panel has resumed with its questions from yesterday.

Please be informed that the video of the trial judgment in the case of Pjetër Shala, pronounced on 16 July, is now available on our YouTube channel.

Today, 16 July 2024, Trial Panel I pronounced its Judgment in the case of The Specialist Prosecutor v. Pjetër Shala. This Judgment represents the second judgment rendered by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in a war crimes case.

The Trial Panel found Mr. Shala guilty of the war crimes of arbitrary detention, torture and murder and sentenced him to a prison sentence of 18 years. For legal reasons, the Panel acquitted Mr. Shala for the crime of cruel treatment. The Panel found Mr. Shala to be criminally responsible for the crimes through his individual contributions as a participant in a joint criminal enterprise, together with other KLA members.

More details in the Press Release.

The streaming of the pronouncement of the trial judgment in the case against Pjetër Shala, scheduled for 14:00 this afternoon, will be broadcast with a delay of 10 minutes. Click here to watch the live stream in English.

The testimony of Bislim Zyrapi resumed this morning with the SPO continuing their re-examination from yesterday.

Please note that today’s hearing is expected to last until 13:00.

After Januzi Defence requested an extension of the current deadline and considering that Haxhi Shala Defence was not present at the hearing on 12 July, the Pre-Trial Judge decided on the same day, proprio motu (on her own initiative), to vacate the earlier deadline for filing the Defence pre-trial briefs, which was set for 15 July. The Januzi Defence has been instructed to submit its request for an extension of the time limit for filing its pre-trial brief by Monday, 15 July 2024, with possible responses from other parties to follow by 16 July.

Following the Januzi Defence's intention to file a preliminary motion regarding the new charge in the latest joint indictment, Judge Masselot also vacated the date for the transmission of the case file to the Trial Panel, which was set for 22 July.

New dates will be set in due course.

More details are available in the decision.

The testimony of Bislim Zyrapi resumed this morning with the Krasniqi Defence continuing their cross-examination from last week.

The Panel announced that, like the last two weeks, the testimony of this witness will take place for full days today and Wednesday, and for half days on Tuesday (until the lunch break) and Thursday (only the first session). The Panel also informed that there is no other witness scheduled for this week.

During today’s further appearance, both Januzi and Bahtijari pleaded not guilty to the new charge in the joint indictment.

Please be informed that the further appearance of Januzi and Bahtijari, scheduled for 09:30, will be broadcast with a delay of 10 minutes. Click here to watch the live stream in English.

After the completion of the testimony of the SPO witness W04501, the trial in the Thaçi et al. case has adjourned for the day and the week. The proceedings will continue on Monday, 15 July, at 09:00.