PETRONIJEVIĆ: DEFENSE FAILED TO PROVE THAT KLA DID NOT HAVE A CLEAR CHAIN OF COMMAND

BELGRADE, SEPTEMBER 16 /SRNA/ - Lawyer Goran Petronijević said that the defense of the former KLA leaders had failed during the trial to prove that the terrorist organisation did not have a clear chain of command, adding that, regardless of the verdict handed down today, the proceedings will continue.

"A large number of their wartime diaries, records, lists, details of the organisation of units, weapons, activities, coordination of operations and so on indicate that they were clearly organised under a central command headed by Hashim Thaci," Petronijević told RTS. Ahead of the verdict in the trial of the former leaders of the terrorist KLA in The Hague, Petronijević said that the evidence presented during the proceedings provided sufficient grounds for the prosecution to be convinced that the charges had been proven. Regardless of the first-instance verdict, he expects the proceedings to continue, as the dissatisfied party will file an appeal. Petronijević pointed out that the judicial panel conducting the proceedings adjudicates under the Constitution and laws of self-proclaimed Kosovo, but is based in The Hague and is under strong pressure from various political actors. He stressed that the crimes against Serbs and non-Albanians were committed for ethnic, rather than political, reasons, and that he had an objection to the way the motive for the joint criminal enterprise was defined in the indictment. More than EUR 40.6 million has been spent from the budget of Pristina's institutions on legal defense and financial assistance for individuals indicted before the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague. More than EUR 28.4 million was allocated specifically for Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi between 2021 and September 14, 2026.