The Special Court releases Isni Kilaj on bail

2025-12-10 15:20:52, Kosova & Bota CNA

Former mayor of Malisheva, Isni Kilaj, has been released by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague, after the judge ruled that his detention on charges of obstruction of justice was “neither reasonable nor proportionate.”

The Special Court announced on Wednesday that the judge concluded that Kilaj's fundamental right to release outweighs the risk that he will influence the justice process in the trial of former Kosovo Liberation Army leaders, which is nearing completion.

Kilaj - along with former Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi, former Justice Minister Hajredin Kuçi, former head of the Kosovo Intelligence Agency Bashkim Smakaj and Fadil Fazliu - are accused of obstruction of justice in the case against Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi.

Their trial will begin on February 24th.

Kilaj was arrested last December and has been held in custody in the Dutch city since then.

He has pleaded not guilty to these charges.

The judge said in his ruling that circumstances had changed since Kilaj's detention was reviewed in October and that keeping him in detention was no longer reasonable.

The judge also took into account that the time Kilaj has now spent in detention exceeds the minimum sentence under the law that he would face if found guilty of the criminal offenses with which he is charged, according to the announcement.

"No evidence has been presented to show that Kilaj attempted to obstruct the process during the period of his previous conditional release in 2024; that the presentation of evidence in the case of Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi has been completed and that the risk that Kilaj could influence the prosecution witnesses in Case 12 is very low considering their specific circumstances," the announcement states.

This is the second time that Kilaj has been released on bail by the Special Court, after he was released in May 2024 after posting bail of 30,000 euros.

Among the reasons for his release at the time was the fact that the indictment against him for obstruction of justice was expected to change. Kilaj spent almost six months in detention after his initial arrest./REL