Live update

Please be reminded about the status conference in the joint case against Sabit Januzi, Ismet Bahtijari and Haxhi Shala case this morning at 10:00. As in the other cases,  the streaming of this hearing will be broadcast with a delay of 45 minutes. Click here to watch the live stream in English.

On 9 February 2024, having received submissions from the Registrar and the parties, the Trial Panel in the Thaçi et al. case found that there is no basis, at this stage, to order that specific measures, similar to the ones set for non-privileged visits on 1 December 2023, be put in place in respect of private visits to the accused. However, the Panel made it clear that any abuse of privileges associated with such visits will be subject to adequate response.

The Panel noted that the Registrar, if necessary, has the authority to impose specific restrictions on a private visit (as per, inter alia, Articles 34(12) and 41(9) of the Law and Rule 27 of the Rules) and has therefore instructed the Registrar to immediately notify the Panel of any such decision, which can be challenged by a detainee within seven days.

The Panel also issued specific orders and reminders to the accused (in particular Thaçi and Selimi), the Registrar and the Lead Counsel for all accused of their obligations regarding confidential information, all of which can be found in the decision.

On 8 February, Trial Panel II denied the latest report with one application for the status of participating victim in the Thaҫi et al. case. The Panel declined to consider the merits of the applications as the time limit to file such applications in this case expired on 15 February 2023 and no good cause had been shown to recognize them as valid as provided in Rule 9 (5)(b). The full decision can be found here. 

As announced in our Court Calendar, the status conference in the joint case against Sabit Januzi, Ismet Bahtijari and Haxhi Shala is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, 13 February, at 10:00. More information in the scheduling order.

Having received the request by Venkateswari Alagendra in relation to her potential appointment as Counsel for Salih Mustafa, the Trial Panel in the Thaçi et al. case found today, 8 February, that a potential conflict of interest exists if she was to also represent Salih Mustafa, in addition to her appointment as counsel for Jakup Krasniqi. However, the Trial Panel emphasized that this decision should not be regarded as its view on whether Alagendra should be appointed as Mustafa’s counsel or not as these matters are decided by the Registrar.

More details can be found in the decision and here are our previous posts on the matter: 25/01/2024; 30/01/2024

On 8 February 2024, Pre-Trial Judge Guillou granted the SPO request for the joinder of the case against Sabit Januzi and Ismet Bahtijari with the one against Haxhi Shala. Judge Guillou found that the joinder of these two cases meets the requirements of Rule 89(1) of the Rules, that it would serve the proper administration of justice and would not be prejudicial or inconsistent with the rights of the accused.

As for the amended indictment submitted by the SPO in January, Judge Guillou found it non-operative and ordered the SPO to resubmit it. Until then, the joint case will proceed on the basis of the currently confirmed indictments in the two cases.

The new joint case will be renamed The Specialist Prosecutor v. Sabit Januzi, Ismet Bahtijari and Haxhi Shala and will have the case number KSC-BC-2023-10. The current case number KSC-BC-2023-11 (which referred to Haxhi Shala only) will be discontinued but will remain part of the joint case record.

More details in the decision.

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

Another KSC weekly press briefing will take place on Thursday, 8 February, 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 5 February 2024, the Court of Appeals Panel denied Sabit Januzi’s appeal against the Pre-Trial Judge’s decision rejecting his application for provisional release. Here is the decision of the Court of Appeals Panel.

As per the oral order of the Pre-Trial Judge on 3 November last year, the Specialist Prosecutor filed, as confidential, its pre-trial brief in the case against Sabit Januzi and Ismet Bahtijari. The relevant filing informing of this submission is available here.