Ben Emmerson withdraws from the defense of Kadri Vesel in the Special Court

2024-08-21 19:43:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The Kosovo Specialized Chambers in The Hague announced on Wednesday that lawyer Ben Emmerson has withdrawn from the defense team of former Kosovo Liberation Army superior Kadri Veseli, who is being tried on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, which denies them.

"The Judiciary in the case of Thaçi and others approved the termination of the legal representation of Kadri Veseli by the defender Ben Emmerson. Veseli and Emmerson agreed with this decision, causing the Court to approve the termination of the legal representation for valid reasons", the announcement states.

Veseli and Emmerson agreed to separate due to the "irrevocable breakdown of their client-attorney relationship," according to the release.

The court said that the jury was "convinced that the continuity of Vesel's representation will be ensured and that the change of the chief defense attorney will not cause delays in the judicial process". Emmerson, an international lawyer and former UN Special Rapporteur on Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights, was appointed to lead Vesel's defense in late 2020.

Emmerson is known to the Kosovar public, especially for the judicial proceedings against former Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj within the framework of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

In the Special Court, several trials are currently underway against the former senior superiors of the Kosovo Liberation Army.

So far, the court has sentenced the former superior of the KLA, Salih Mustafa, to 22 years in prison for war crimes, and two former figures of the KLA Veterans Organization, Hysni Gucati and Nasim Haradinaj. Among the ongoing trials is the one against Vesel, former Speaker of Parliament Jakup Krasniqi, former President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi, and former MP Rexhep Selimi.

They are jointly indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity, charges they have denied.

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.

The 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./ Rel