Hashim Thaçi has declared himself innocent of the new form of liability for “incitement”, which was added to him following an Appeals Court ruling in his case against the administration of justice. In this case, he is accused together with Bashkim Smakaj, Fadil Fazliu, Isni Kilaj and Hajredin Kuçi.
Thaçi submitted his statement in writing through his defense on April 24, 2025.
“In accordance with Rule 92 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, Mr. Thaçi’s written plea of not guilty to each count and charge in the Amended Reconfirmed Indictment, including the additional form of incitement for Counts 1 through 3, is attached to these submissions,” Thaçi’s defense statement states.
On April 14, 2025, the pre-trial judge, Marjorie Masselot, changed her previous decision to confirm the indictment, thus confirming the form of criminal liability for Thaçi under Article 32 (3) of the CCRK, which relates to incitement to commit the criminal offense of “Obstructing official persons in the performance of official duties”, under Article 401 (3) and (5) of the CCK.
The Court of Appeals of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSCC) in The Hague has partially approved the Prosecution's appeal against the decision to confirm the indictment in the case against Hashim Thaçi, Bashkim Smakaj, Isni Kila, Fadil Fazliu and Hajredin Kuçi, where a form of criminal liability was added to Thaçi in the case against the administration of justice.
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The SPO demands 6 years in prison for Thaçi for obstruction of justice
Of the four points of the SPO's complaint, only the one related to Thaçi's responsibility for inciting Kilaj, Smakaj, and Fazliu to commit the criminal offense of obstructing official persons in the performance of official duties was accepted.
The Appeals Panel has decided to accept one of the four points raised by the SPO against the decision to confirm the indictment against Hashim Thaçi, Bashkim Smakaj, Fadil Fazliu and Hajredin Kuçi, regarding Thaçi's criminal liability for 'incitement' to commit the criminal offense of "Obstructing official persons in the performance of official duties".
The fourth point of the SPO's appeal concerned the objection to the judge's finding that Article 32 (3) of the CCRK does not apply to the offense of “Obstruction of Official Persons” under Article 401 (3) and (5) of the CCRK.
According to the SPO, the judge erred in finding that because Article 401 (3) and (5) of the CCRK does not provide for a sentence of up to five years of imprisonment, Article 32 (1) is therefore not applicable as, according to her, this provision only applies to offences punishable by less than five years.
According to the SPO, the pre-trial judge erred in finding that, because Article 401 (3) and (5) of the CCK provides for a sentence of one to five years of imprisonment, Article 32 (3) was not applicable, as this provision applies only to offences punishable by at least five years of imprisonment. Thaçi’s defense had argued that the judge had correctly interpreted this article.
Article 32 (3) of the Criminal Code on “Incitement” states that “Whoever intentionally incites another person to commit a criminal offense punishable by at least five (5) years of imprisonment and the criminal offense has not even been attempted, the instigator shall be punished for attempt.”
According to the Panel, the judge had found that the offense under Article 401 (3) of the CCRK is punishable by 1 to 5 years of imprisonment, therefore she excluded Thaçi's responsibility under Article 32 (3) of the CCRK for counts 1, 4 and 4 of the indictment.
In addition, the panel said that there are disagreements on the interpretation of this article because, according to them, lower panels have interpreted this article as applicable to criminal offenses punishable by over five years and some to those punishable by under 5 years.
The decision states that by majority vote, the Panel agreed with the SPO, stating that Article 32 (3) should apply to offences involving or exceeding five years of imprisonment.
"As a result, the Panel finds, by majority vote, that since the offense of obstructing official persons is punishable in its aggravated forms with imprisonment from one (1) to five (5) years, the third form of incitement under Article 32(3) of the CCK is applicable in this case," the decision states.
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Those accused of obstruction of justice plead not guilty again
As a result, they considered the judge's finding that this article was not applicable to the offense of “Obstructing official persons in the performance of official duties” to be erroneous. The panel therefore accepted point four of the SPO's appeal.
"Since the finding of the existence of a well-founded suspicion that Thaçi incited Fazliu, Smakaj and Kilaj to commit the criminal offense of obstructing official persons involves a factual assessment of the evidence, the case is returned to the Preliminary Procedure Judge for further consideration," the decision further states.
Otherwise, in this case Bashkim Smakaj, Fadil Fazliu and Isni Kilaj were arrested on December 5, 2024 in Kosovo and transferred to the detention facility at the Kosovo Prison Service on December 6, 2024 based on the confirmed indictment and arrest warrants issued by The Hague.
Meanwhile, Thaçi was handed the arrest warrant at the detention facility in The Hague on December 5, 2024, always according to the announcement of the SC.
Meanwhile, Hajredin Kuçi was served with the confirmed indictment and a summons to appear before the pre-trial judge for his first appearance, which was held on December 9.
According to the indictment, Thaçi, individually and through joint actions with the groups; the Fazliu Group (Fadil Fazliu and Fahri Fazliu), the Smakaj Group (Bashkim Smakaj, Blerim Shala and Artan Behrami) and the Kilaj Group (Isni Kilaj and VllaznimKryeziu), have followed a pattern of behavior to obstruct official persons in the performance of official duties.
The indictment states that Thaçi has led and participated in these efforts through his visits to detention facilities while he was detained as part of his trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
It states that members of the Fazliu group, the Smakaj group, and the Kilaj group coordinated to influence ZPS witnesses during non-privileged visits on July 2, September 9, and October 6, 2023.
As a result, Thaç is charged with three charges of obstructing an official in the performance of official duties, three charges of breaching the secrecy of the procedure and four charges of disobeying the court.
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Trial begins for obstruction of justice against Thaçi
Meanwhile, Kilaj, Smakaj and Fazliu are accused of attempting to obstruct official persons in the performance of official duties and disobeying the court. However, Kuçi has two charges of disobeying the court. / Oath of Justice
