The MoD warns that it will make public the expenses for the accused in The Hague

Almost half a million euros has been allocated by the Ministry of Justice for the legal protection of four persons accused by the Special, following the requests received. This ministry has warned that it will change the decision of former Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, which did not allow giving details about the funds that will be allocated. Connoisseurs of issues related to justice, meanwhile, say that the lack of transparency in spending these funds has several consequences.

The expenses for the legal defense of persons accused by the Special Court are expected to be made public.

This, after the Ministry of Justice has announced the change of the decision of former Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, who until now has not allowed such data to be accessible to the public.

Although they have warned of concrete actions, through an answer to TIME, the ministry has not indicated when such a thing will be done.

"During these days, we have had many requests for the publication of expenses, especially for the legal protection of persons who are accused before the Specialized Chambers. As you are aware, the interpretation of the Ministry's legal office is that the decision taken during Haradinaj's time does not allow access. In this regard, Minister Haxhiu has been in consultation with the Office of the Prime Minister and considering the obligation we have for transparency in spending public money, very soon there will be concrete actions in this direction", says the answer of the MD.

Without giving additional details, the Ministry of Justice announced that for the legal protection of four persons, it has executed nearly half a million euros.

"Regarding the requests made, we inform you that after their verification by the relevant Unit in the Ministry of Justice, the Commission has examined them and after ascertaining that the requests meet the relevant criteria, it has approved 4 requests submitted by the defense lawyers of the accused from the Chambers Specialized. The sum of the financial means executed for the 4 requests submitted by the defense lawyers is 464,600.00 euros", said this minister.

The publication of expenses for the defense of the accused is considered an urgent matter by the Kosovo Institute for Justice.

also Arberi July 24, 2025 MD: Over 32 million euros were paid for the protection of former KLA leaders, over 5 million for Thaçi alone

Gëzim Shala, researcher at this institute, says that the lack of transparency for these expenses makes it impossible to verify whether the allocation of funds was done legally or not.

"Keeping these expenses hidden can have two consequences. The first is the lack of accountability to the public regarding the spending of public money and the second is that it can create situations where the accused are treated selectively. For this reason, what the Ministry of Justice should do is to urgently adjust the aspect of the by-laws and to make these data public", said Shala.

Currently, the Special Court has confirmed the indictments for the former leaders of the KLA, Hashim Thaçin, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniq, Rexhep Selim and Salih Mustafa, as well as for the leaders of the OVL of the KLA, Hysni Gucati and Nasim Haradinaj. .