DREAM / The Prime Minister resigns and wakes up under the Parisian bridge!

 Kliko këtu për të tjera
Voxpress:

Former US Assistant Secretary of State, James Rubin: I will be a witness in Hashim Thaçi's defense

2025-09-12 16:22:07Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Former US Assistant Secretary of State, James Rubin: I will be a witness in
James Rubin

James Rubin, who served as US Assistant Secretary of State during the Kosovo war, said that next week he will testify before the Specialist Chambers in The Hague - where former President Hashim Thaçi, former parliamentarians Kadri Veseli and Jakup Krasniqi, and former Kosovo MP Rexhep Selimi are accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The defense of the former KLA leaders, who deny the charges, begins presenting evidence and witnesses on September 15th.

"I'll be in Europe because next week I'm testifying at the special war crimes tribunal in Kosovo and as someone who helped [former late US Secretary of State] Madeleine Albright establish the original war crimes tribunal. That means I'm going back to square one and I have more to say about that next week ," Rubin told "Christiane Amanpour Presents: The Ex Files with James Rubin."

Rubin, who was an important figure during the war in Kosovo, in an interview with Radio Free Europe given in 2023, spoke about the United States' stance on the KLA.

“In the early days, before I knew much about it, we had condemned the terrorist activities that were carried out by Albanian groups. But, as the peace process evolved, the KLA became the center of that peace process and it was Hashim Thaçi, at the Rambouillet talks, who made the courageous decision to agree to the Rambouillet Agreement. And that was the decision that allowed NATO to support the Kosovo Albanians. If that decision had not been made, I don’t think we would be so happy and free in a modern European city here in Pristina.”

According to him, the KLA played a decisive role in the agreements signed by its leaders and in the implementation of demilitarization after the end of the war.

At the time, Rubin had refused to comment on the accusations of war crimes and crimes against humanity against Thaçi and other former KLA leaders.

On September 15, Thaçi's defense team will begin presenting evidence and calling witnesses. After Thaçi's team has finished, Krasniqi's team will also present the case.

The defense teams of Veseli and Selim announced on July 16, 2025 that they do not intend to present any defense evidence.

Thaçi's defense has warned that among the witnesses it will call are figures from the United States and Britain.

"I cannot say these names in public because they are people of high stature, people who are very well-known, such as Secretary Albright, Richard Holbrooke, Senator Dole, etc. ," said one of Thaçi's lawyers during the status conference held on August 19.

Former President Thaçi's defense intends to call 11-12 witnesses, aiming for them to give evidence in open sessions. Meanwhile, Krasniqi's defense has said that two witnesses will give evidence in court, while two others will give written testimony, and this evidence has already been submitted to prosecutors.

The panel of judges of the Specialist Chambers expects to conclude the case of the defense of Hashim Thaçi and Jakup Krasniqi by November 14, or one week after the conclusion of the testimony of the last witness. The panel also expects the defense of the former KLA leaders to be prepared to submit their final trial briefs before December 22 of this year.

As of November 4 and 5, 2020, all four defendants have been in custody in The Hague, where the Kosovo Specialist Chambers are located.

The trial against them began in April 2023. In over two years, the Specialized Prosecutor's Office called 125 witnesses to the courtroom and presented around 3,000 pieces of material evidence.

The SPO declared on April 16 that it had concluded presenting evidence against former KLA leaders.

The Specialized Prosecutor's Office had confirmed the indictment against former KLA leaders in October 2020, but made it public only a month later.

The indictment charges the defendants with "personal" responsibility, but also for "crimes committed by their subordinates."

According to the indictment, Thaçi, Veseli, Selimi and Krasniqi are accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including the murder of more than 100 victims as well as the unlawful detention and torture of hundreds of victims.

The indictment states that the four defendants and other KLA members were part of a “joint criminal enterprise” and “shared the common goal of seizing and exercising control throughout Kosovo by all means, including intimidation, mistreatment, the use of violence and the elimination of those they considered opponents.”

The Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor's Office – widely known as the Specialist Court – were established in 2015 by the Kosovo Assembly and are part of the Kosovo judicial system, but operate with international staff in the Netherlands.

The Special Court is investigating alleged crimes committed by KLA members against ethnic minorities and political rivals from January 1998 to December 2000./ REL


Në përputhje me standarded JTI

Video

SHIKO KANALIN NE YOUTUBE
×