Indictment against Thaci and Veseli to remain strictly confidential? Deadline expires on Saturday

Photo: Profimedia/Abaca Press, Tanjug/Zoran Zestic

A spokeswoman of the Specialized Chambers in The Hague, Angela Griep, told Kosovo Online that the war crimes indictment against the president of the provisional Pristina institutions, Hashim Thaci, and the leader of the DPK Kadri Veseli will remain confidential, although the six-month deadline for its official publication is expiring tomorrow.

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Asked whether the court will confirm the indictment against the pair, Griep said that this will be known at the latest by the time of their first appearance before the court.

"If the indictment is not published, it remains confidential, together with procedures related to its examination. The Rules of Procedure and Evidence stipulate that, if confirmed, the indictment will be published no later than the first appearance of the accused before the court," said Angela Griep.

The spokeswoman for the Specialized Chambers finally added that, "since the indictment remains confidential, together with the proceedings related to its examination," she could not comment on it any further.

The Hague-based Specialized Prosecutor's Office filed an indictment before the Specialized Chambers on April 24, accusing Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and former Parliament Speaker and current Democratic Party of Kosovo MP Kadri Veseli, as well as "others" of committing a number of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, responsibility for disappearances, persecution and torture.

The indictment alleges that Thaci, Veseli, and other suspects are criminally responsible for nearly 100 murders.

It was only on June 24 that the Special Prosecutor's Office publicly announced that the indictments had been submitted, while the six-month deadline by which The Hague-based court should declare itself on it, expires tomorrow.

(Telegraf.rs)