The defense teams of the accused in The Hague have together requested that the Office of the Specialized Prosecutor (SPO) be ordered to disclose the materials it possesses from Serbia and which it intends to use in the judicial process against the leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). ), who have been in custody for a year and a half.

The request was submitted by Kadri Veseli's lawyer, Ben Emmerson, on behalf of the defense teams in the "Hashim Thaçi and others" case.

In accordance with Rule 103 and Rule 102(3), the defense teams of Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selim and Jakup Krasniqi have requested the disclosure of the origin of any material that the Office of the Specialized Prosecutor has in its possession, the origin of which is suspected be the Republic of Serbia, or any of its past and present bodies or institutions.

In the written request submitted by the lawyers, which was published on the website of the Specialized Chambers, it is stated that Serbia remains engaged in a continuous disinformation campaign against Kosovo and the KLA, with the aim of destabilizing the state.


Ben Emmerson – Kadri Veseli's lawyer

"In a wide range of countries related to the 1998-1999 conflict, Serbia has repeatedly used deceptive means to incriminate the KLA, to undermine Kosovo's independence and to avoid responsibility for its own crimes.

In particular, she has conducted bogus operations, tampered with crime scenes, and obtained false testimony through torture and coercion, raising reasonable concerns about the reliability of information emanating from this source," the defense teams' letter reads. .

Lawyers for the accused in The Hague have claimed that the Special Investigative Task Force, then the Office of the Specialized Prosecutor (SPO), obtained an unknown but significant amount of evidence through their cooperative relationship with Serbia.

The Defense says it intends to rebut such evidence, but adds that the disclosure provided to the Defense to date is incomplete and the Office of the Special Prosecutor has shown no willingness to be transparent about its relationship with Serbia and to comply Defense requirements.

The defense teams of Thaçi, Vesel, Selim and Krasniqi have further asked the Pre-Trial Judge to order the SPS to disclose the nature and extent of the Special Investigative Task Force and SPS relations with Serbia, including its legal basis. and particularly materials necessary for the Defense to understand the terms on which the information was sought and received, as this is likely to affect its credibility and reliability.


Special Court Building, The Hague.

The defense teams say they are raising the issue now, as the SPS's position regarding its relationship with Serbia, and evidence originating from Serbia, risks irreparable damage to the integrity of these proceedings.

"On April 11, 2022, the SPS, by e-mail, refused to disclose such material, claiming that the Defense had failed to demonstrate that the SPS's relationship with Serbia 'no more' affected the reliability or credibility of the evidence obtained through this relationship.

However, she confirmed that no evidence from Serbia was being withheld pursuant to Rule 107.6," their letter states.

The defense says that, in accordance with Rule 103, it is entitled to all material originating from the Serbian state, its organs and institutions, together with the provenance of any such material on which the ZPS has relied, or will seek support, directly or indirectly in this case.

The SPS's current refusal to provide that information, according to defense teams, rests on a fiction that its relationship with Serbia is similar to any other information provider.

Meanwhile, the defense teams have recalled that during the conflict of 1998-1999, the Serbian state was a direct opponent of the Kosovo Liberation Army, and the accused in particular, and affirms that it remains a biased actor even today in the issues related to that conflict .

/Dukagini/