On 9 November 2020 at 15:00, the Initial Appearance of Hashim Thaçi will take place in the courtroom of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC) in The Hague.
The indictment against Hashim Thaçi was confirmed on 26 October 2020. He was arrested by the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office on 5 November 2020 and transferred to the Detention Facilities of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague on the same day.
The indictment charges Hashim Thaçi, under various forms of criminal responsibility, with war crimes and crimes against humanity under international law. The public redacted indictment can be read here.
The Initial Appearance of Hashim Thaçi will be a public hearing. During an Initial Appearance the Pre-Trial Judge makes sure that the rights of the Accused, including the right to legal representation, are respected, and that the Accused understands the charges against him or her. The Initial Appearance can be viewed online with a short delay at https://www.scp-ks.org/en/streaming.
The hearing can also be followed from the public gallery of the courtroom on the premises of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague. In addition, the KSC has a dedicated media centre on its premises from which journalists can work and follow proceedings with a short delay.
Due to measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19, seating in both the public gallery and the media centre will be very limited and pre-registration is required.
To pre-register, please send an email to [email protected] by Saturday, 7 November 2020 at 20:00.
The email should include full name, date of birth, citizenship and passport/ID number, affiliation (e.g. general public, accredited diplomat, NGO/civil society) any other relevant details. Journalists should also provide the name of media outlet, location where you are based, as well as a scan of your press card.
We will inform you as soon as possible whether there is space available. We ask for your understanding given the limitations imposed by public health considerations in response to COVID-19.
More details about visiting the KSC, including information about COVID-19 measures, can be found here.
