Trial Panel II of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC) has scheduled the pronouncement of the Trial Judgement in the case of The Specialist Prosecutor v. Hysni Gucati and Nasim Haradinaj on 18 May at 10:00 a.m. The hearing will be public and can be followed in Albanian, Serbian or English language either through the streaming page of the KSC website (https://www.scp-ks.org/en/streaming) with a 10 minutes delay or from the public gallery. More information about the hearing schedule can be found in the court calendar (https://www.scp-ks.org/en/calendar).
To attend the hearing from the public gallery, pre-registration is advised. Journalists who would like to record the hearing from the media centre are also kindly asked to pre-register.
To pre-register, please send an email to [email protected] with your name, nationality, date of birth and passport or ID number, subject line “Trial Judgment”. Media are kindly asked to provide a scan of their press card and to indicate whether they wish to follow the hearing from the public gallery or from the media centre. Deadline for pre-registration is Friday, 13 May, at 16:00. Please note that your place is only confirmed once you received a confirmation email. Confirmation emails will be sent on Friday afternoon (13 May) after 16:00.
Visits without pre-registration are possible only if there is sufficient space in the public gallery/media centre.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions on the KSC premises, all visitors are required to wear a face mask while on the premises.
The KSC will film the hearing and an audio-visual copy of the pronouncement of the trial judgment will be available later that day.
Summary of Charges
The indictment states that between at least 7 and 25 September 2020, on the occasion of three press conferences and other broadcasted events, as well as through further dissemination, Hysni Gucati and Nasim Haradinaj revealed, without authorisation, information protected under the Law of the Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office, including the identifying details of certain (potential) witnesses. The accused also made disparaging accusations and remarks against (potential) witnesses and repeatedly expressed their intention to undermine the Specialist Chambers.
The charges include two counts of criminal offences against public order, namely obstructing official persons in performing official duties (count 1 and 2) and four counts of criminal offences against the administration of justice and public administration. These counts are intimidation during criminal proceedings (count 3), retaliation (count 4) and violating the secrecy of proceedings (count 5 and 6)
Case History
Hysni Gucati and Nasim Haradinaj were arrested in Pristina, Kosovo, on 25 September 2020, and transferred to the KSC Detention Facilities on 25 and 26 September, respectively.
Mr. Haradinaj’s and Mr. Gucati’s first appearances as suspects were held before the Single Judge, Nicolas Guillou on 29 September and 1 October 2020 respectively.
On 11 December 2020, Judge Nicolas Guillou, in his capacity as Pre-Trial Judge, confirmed the indictment against the two accused. The corrected indictment was filed on 5 July 2021 and a lesser redacted indictment was filed on 4 October 2021.
The initial appearances of both accused before the Pre-Trial Judge took place on 18 December 2020. Hysni Gucati pleaded not guilty to all charges whereas Nasim Haradinaj failed to enter a plea within 30 days during his further appearance that took place on 8 January 2021. Accordingly, pursuant to Rule 92(2)(f) of the KSC Rules of Procedure and Evidence, the Pre-Trial Judge entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf.
On 16 July 2021, the Pre-Trial Judge transmitted the case file to Trial Panel II.
The trial commenced on 7 October 2021. On 10 November 2021, the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office (SPO) closed its case.
The Gucati Defence case commenced on 3 December 2021, followed by the Haradinaj Defense case on 15 December 2021. Both Defence teams closed their cases on 2 February 2022.
The evidentiary proceedings in this case were closed on 3 February 2022.
During the 31 trial days, the SPO called four witnesses and both Defence teams relied on the testimony of 10 witnesses and 18 written witness statements.
The closing statements took place from 14 to 17 March 2022.
For more information, please visit the KSC website www.scp-ks.org
