Ismet Bahtijari pleads guilty to witness intimidation and obstruction of justice

2024-12-19 15:09:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Ismet Bahtijari pleads guilty to witness intimidation and obstruction of justice

Ismet Bahtijari, former member of the Kosovo Liberation Army

The former member of the Kosovo Liberation Army, Ismet Bahtijari, has pleaded guilty before the Specialized Chambers in The Hague and agreed to a sentence of up to two years in prison.

Bahtijari did this through a plea agreement he reached with the Specialized Prosecutor's Office.

He is accused that, together with Haxhi Shala and Sabit Jonuzi, they collaborated to encourage a witness not to testify before the Special Court.

Until now, it has not been announced which witness it is about or in which case he was expected to testify.

"Guilty", said Bahtijari in front of the judicial panel when asked how he declares the charges against him, in the session of December 19.

With this agreement, among other things, Bahtijari agreed that if the court sentences him to two years of imprisonment or less, he will not have the right to appeal against this decision.

A day ago, Shala and Jonuzi also pleaded guilty in court after the agreements they reached separately with the Prosecutor's Office.

Shala agreed to a sentence of up to two years in prison, while Jonuzi to a sentence of 24 to 30 months.

The judicial panel announced that the decision on whether or not to accept the plea agreements for the three accused "will be made in time".

What does the accusation say about Shala, Jonuz and Bakhtijar?
The indictment confirmed for the three accused on July 10, 2023, says that in the period between April 5 and 12, 2023 Haxhi Shala, together with Sabit Januzi and Ismet Bahtijar contacted a witness.

More precisely, according to the indictment, Ismet Bahtijari visited the witness at his home on April 5, while Sabit Jonuzi visited on April 12.

The indictment further states that the witness was asked to withdraw his testimony and was offered benefits in exchange.

The group crime, according to the Prosecutor's Office, was carried out under the directive of Haxhi Shala.

The Specialized Chambers of Kosovo have so far announced two verdicts for obstruction in the administration of justice.

Two former figures of the KLA Veterans Organization, Hysni Gucati and Nasim Haradinaj, have been convicted for obstructing justice until now.

Meanwhile, on December 6, 2024, the Special Court in The Hague confirmed a new indictment against the former president of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi, as well as against four other persons for criminal offenses related to "allegations of illegal attempts to influence the testimony of witnesses in the war crimes trial Thaçi and others".

The Specialized Chambers of Kosovo said that the indictment was confirmed against Hashim Thaçi, the former Minister of Justice, Hajredin Kuçi, the former head of the Kosovo Intelligence Agency, Bashkim Smakaj, the former mayor of Malisheva, Isni Kilaj, and Fadil Fazliu.

Meanwhile, the Special Court has also pronounced two verdicts for war crimes.

The Special Court was established in 2015 by the Assembly of Kosovo and is part of the judicial system of Kosovo, but operates with international personnel and is headquartered in The Hague.

The Specialized Chambers and the Specialized Prosecutor's Office investigate alleged crimes committed by members of the Kosovo Liberation Army against ethnic minorities and political rivals from January 1998 to December 2000.

Currently, several court cases are underway in the Specialized Chambers, including the case against the former leaders of the KLA - Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi - who are accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity./REL