The prosecution demands that former AKI chief Driton Gashi be found guilty in the "Gülenists" case

The final word has been given in the retrial of the "Gülenists" case, in which the former head of the AKI, Driton Gashi, is accused of deporting six Turkish citizens. The prosecutor has requested his punishment, after saying that his guilt was proven in the process. Gashi has defended himself silently

After several closed sessions, the retrial in the case known as the "Gülenists" was opened to the public this Friday.

In this trial, the former head of the Kosovo Intelligence Agency (KIA), Driton Gashi, is accused of being directly involved in the deportation of six Turkish citizens in March 2018: Mustafa Erdem, Yusuf Karabina, Hasan Huseyn-Gunakan, Cihan Ozkan, Osman Karakaya and Kahraman Demirez, who subsequently faced legal proceedings in Turkey.

In her closing statement, the special prosecutor, Habibe Salihu-Statovci, requested from the trial panel that the accused Gashi be found guilty of the criminal offense of "Abuse of official duty or authority".

"From the testimonies of the witnesses, who are damaged, it has been clearly proven that actions were taken against these citizens, with the aim of making them leave the Republic of Kosovo. From the testimonies of the witnesses, the damage that was caused to them in an unlawful manner was also proven," emphasized Prosecutor Salihu-Statovci.

She emphasized that it has also been confirmed that the six Turks were expelled, although they did not pose a threat to the security of Kosovo.

"After being expelled, they were forcibly removed from the Republic of Kosovo, they were sent to the state of Turkey and the same persons served their sentence until they were released after several years and then after they were released, they returned to Kosovo again. So, this proves the fact that the same persons did not pose any threat to national security, because they still, legally, remain in the Republic of Kosovo," she said.

And previously, in the order of presenting the defense, the accused Gashi defended himself silently.

"My statement is that I am defending myself in silence and that the reason for this is the Law on Classification of Information and the Law on the Kosovo Intelligence Agency. And once again I declare that I am innocent and have not violated any legal procedure in this process," Gashi said.

Six Turkish citizens were expelled from Kosovo in March 2018.

A court case has been launched against them in Turkey, after they were accused of being members of the "Feto" organization, which has been declared a terrorist organization in this country.

The expulsion sparked domestic and international reactions, and the action was described as a violation of human rights.