Kosovo ‘Drenica Group’ Guerrillas Call for Acquittal

During the defence’s closing statements at the court in Mitrovica on Tuesday, the lawyer for one of the accused, Ismet Haxha, in said that the prosecution could not prove that his client committed any criminal offence.

Lawyer Mahmut Halimi said that the main witness who testified denied any knowledge of his client.

“The witness said he didn’t recognise anyone in the court room and never had any contacts with my client. I strongly believe that the judge is going to bring in a non-guilty verdict,” Halimi told BIRN.

Haxha and others from the so-called Drenica Group are accused of assaulting civilian prisoners held at a KLA detention centre in the village of Likovc/Likovac village during the war.

Among the accused are Sylejman Selimi, Pristina’s ambassador to Tirana and the former commander of Kosovo’s security forces, and Sami Lushtaku, the mayor of Skenderaj/Srbice.

Tahir Rrecaj, the lawyer for defendant Sahit Jashari, said that the prosecution had not proved that his client was an accessory to the murder of Ivan Bulatovic, a former Serb police commander in the town of Gllogovc/Glogovac.

“I consider that none of the evidence offered during the trial has proved that Jashari committed a criminal offence,” Rrecaj told the court.

Rrecaj said it was a case of mistaken identity, as witness testimony showed.

“The witness identified another person and not Sahit Jashari as the one who took Bulatovic from the train, when he was taken on May 23, 1998 by uniformed KLA members,” he said.

Lawyers for the other defendants will give their closing statements on Wednesday.