Live update

On 19 March 2025, the Trial Panel in the case against Thaҫi et al. denied the sixth request for temporary release on compassionate grounds of Hashim Thaҫi in order to attend his father’s funeral. In view of the Panel, a custodial visit during the funeral and public commemoration events would have posed significant security concerns. The Panel found that these risks could be appropriately mitigated if the visit took place after the funeral.  The public redacted version of this decision, filed on 7 April, is available here.

Prior to and after this decision, the same panel granted two custodial visits in March, while it rejected two visits in January and February of this year. The links to our posts about these decisions are here: 3^rd request; 4^th request; 5^th request; 7^th request.

The legal framework of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers allows detained persons to make requests for a custodial visit to Kosovo when there are compelling humanitarian grounds. The relevant judges decide on any such requests, based on the information provided at the time a request is made.

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

Another KSC weekly press briefing will take place on Thursday, 10 April, 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 7 April 2025, the Pre-Trial Judge in the case against Thaçi et al. for charges related to the administration of justice issued a decision on Smakaj’s Defence application for a stay of proceedings. The Defence sought a stay, claiming that the SPO failed to disclose relevant information to the Pre-Trial Judge during the indictment confirmation process. Judge Marjorie Masselot rejected the Defence application, finding that the criteria for a permanent stay of proceedings had not been met. Specifically, Judge Masselot concluded, among other things, that the SPO did not violate its obligations by not including a specific witness interview in the material supporting the indictment, as this interview will be addressed at trial in light of the Parties’ arguments and evidence as a whole.

Last week, a decision was made public regarding the victims’ reparations in the Salih Mustafa case. Single Judge Bitti issued his ruling on a  request from a participating victim in this case to waive any reparation payment. Judge Bitti noted that no payment will be made to this person but he found that this waiver will not change the terms of the Reparation Order. However, since the reparations have not yet been fully paid to the remaining victims, Judge Bitti deemed it appropriate to distribute the amount that would have been paid to the waived victim among the remaining victims on a proportional (pro rata) basis.

More details are available in the decision.

On 3 April 2025, the Court of Appeals Panel granted one ground of the SPO appeal against the Pre-Trial Judge’s decision on the confirmation of the indictment. The SPO challenged the Pre-Trial Judge’s interpretation of Article 32(3) of the Kosovo Criminal Code arguing that she incorrectly excluded Hashim Thaçi’s liability for incitement under this article, based on a misinterpretation of sentencing requirements. By majority, Judge Jørgensen dissenting,  the Appeals Panel agreed with the SPO, ruling that Article 32(3) applies to crimes for which the sentencing range includes or exceeds five years, even if not the minimum sentence. Consequently, the Panel remanded the matter to the Pre-Trial Judge for further consideration. The Panel dismissed the other three grounds of appeal raised by the SPO.

Here is the full decision.

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

Another KSC weekly press briefing will take place on Thursday, 3 April, 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.

Please be informed that the next Status Conference in the case against Thaci, Veseli, Selimi and Krasniqi is scheduled for 23 April 2025 at 10:00.

The Court of Appeals Panel today, 1 April, scheduled an appeal hearing in the Pjetër Shala case for Thursday and Friday, 15 and 16 May 2025. The Panel also specified the schedule for both hearings, so the court will convene, subject to adjustments as appropriate, from 13:30 until 17:10 on 15 May and from 10:00 until 11:35 on 16 May. More details are available in the scheduling order.