A court in The Hague leaves war criminal Hashim Thaci in custody
The Special Court for Kosovo rejected the request of the former commander of the UCK (Kosovo Liberation Army) and the ex-“president” of the region, Hashim Thaci, for release from custody.
Thaci had previously requested that he be allowed to remain there under house arrest under the following conditions: in one of the two states that finance the Special Court and are NATO members, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
Rejecting this request (the Special Court for Kosovo in The Hague is funded by Canada, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey and the United States, although Switzerland is not a NATO member), pre-trial judge Nicolas Guillou agreed with the prosecution’s argument that third-country guarantees could not be sufficient reduce the risks associated with Thaci's release from custody.
According to the judge, "only a system of monitoring Thaci's communications in court... can effectively limit the risk that he will obstruct the judicial process, commit criminal acts or facilitate the commission of such acts."
Guillou rejected the defense's argument that Thaci no longer has the influence in Kosovo that he had before his party's defeat in recent elections. The judge concluded that Thaçi's influence and network of supporters as a former UCK commander, "Prime Minister" and "President" of Kosovo were independent of the election results.
According to him, “a climate of witness intimidation prevails” in Kosovo. Judge Guillou said previous attempts to obstruct the trial and prosecution "show that Thaci is likely to reoffend, especially now that he is aware of much of the evidence against himself."
Hashim Thaci's lawyer, Greg Keyhoe, has already announced that he will appeal the judge's decision to extend his client's detention.
The Hague court has remanded war criminal Hashim Thaci in custody.