Witness Bislim Zyrapi, during his testimony in The Hague, on Wednesday spoke about the responsibilities that Rexhep Selimi had when he was appointed as Inspector General of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).
Initially, Selim's lawyer, Geoffrey Roberts, told the witness that he had spoken to the Office of the Specialized Prosecutor (ZPS) about these responsibilities, reports "Oath for Justice".
"His responsibilities as Inspector General was to inspect the units, their readiness and what operational levels they had reached. If there was a lack of discipline, he would inform the commander and there were many other duties which I cannot remember now," Roberts quoted Zyrapi as saying.
"But in short points, I have shown that I cannot explain every point there", said Zyrapi.
Afterwards, Roberts asked the witness if it is true to say that the KLA General Inspectorate did not have an office in Divjaka.
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Zyrapi: Until November 98, the KLA did not have an inspector general, nor did the Headquarters have a structure
"Yes, it is correct! There is no separate office because I have explained which offices they have and where they have been because we do not have too many facilities that we can place so that each sector has a separate office or in a separate house to develop this sector. So in many places the sector has moved, sometimes in Lladrovc, sometimes in Bjeshke i Berisha, in Fshatin e Ri. Depending on where we met him and where I saw him," said the witness.
Also, Zyrapi affirmed that it is correct what he said about the ZPS that the people who accompanied Selim were not always from the Military Police.
"Mr. Raci was a follower. From the beginning, when I notified Selimii, I notified him together with the one who drives and who was next to him", said Zyrapi, denying that he performed inspection duties.
Even for Alush Agushin, the witness affirmed that he did not have any role in the General Inspectorate, but that he was not part of the General Staff either. But, according to the witness, he was carrying some soldiers behind him, but it is not said that he had them directly under his orders.
The witness was also asked by attorney Roberts if Selim had any directors and personnel acting under his orders.
"At the time, no. There is no after," said the witness.
He was then presented with a document stating that the special unit has no right to arrest. As a result, Roberts presented the witness statement he gave during this period in the courtroom during the questions of the ZPS, who said that this method was once used in the Pashtrik Operational Area by the Inspector General.
For the ZPS, the witness said that he was talking about Rexhep Selimi and that he had not arrested, but a disciplinary measure was taken as a result of the disciplinary problems that occurred, but that it should not have been done this way.
"I remember the year '99. It was sometime in March of '99", the witness said that he remembers that this event happened.
Witness Bislim Zyrapi explained that Selimi did not have a special unit, but he had the opportunity to use the Military Police unit.
"It is true that Mr. Selimi does not have a special unit behind him, he has behind him the Military Police unit that he can use, but even when it is used, the commander must be informed. Whether the commander has permission for this unit to be used is another matter. I have explained only in military aspects that this unit cannot be used for these needs and it is for the needs of intervention at the right moments and for detection-observations, but not for arrests. Since I have the explanation that Mr. Selimi did not make any arrests with this unit in that country, but it was used that that unit should always be ready for action. It has been said in this dispute", said Zyrapi.
He said that the Inspector General has not only directed the commanders of the areas to use the Military Police, but also the commander in chief.
"The Inspector General does not turn to the commander of the area, he can only turn to the commander in chief to ask the Military Police at the General Headquarters and he can take it or, in their absence, he can also take it from areas, and that the area commander be asked to use these units. However, the subversive units that were there at that time are used when the groups are armed and oppose with weapons, then these units are used to eliminate them or to disarm them", said Zyrapi.
He added that Selimi did not have the role to take disciplinary measures, but to control the discipline. According to him, taking disciplinary measures was the authority of area, brigade and general commanders.
Also, the witness was asked if he had seen any written report exchanged between Selim and the commander-in-chief, but his answer was not heard. The hearing then went into private session at the request of attorney Roberts to ask him some questions.
After the session was opened, the issue of the inspector general was discussed again, and before adjournment, at the request of Roberts, some documents were accepted as material evidence.
Zyrapi: The Inspector General did not exist in '98 until the KLA was restructured
Witness Bislim Zyrapi said that the function of the General Inspector did not exist during 1998 until the moment when the Kosovo Liberation Army was restructured in November of the same year.
Initially, Rexhep Selim's lawyer, Geoffrey Roberts, asked the witness if it is true that neither the Yugoslav nor the Bosnian army had the role of Inspector General before '98, reports "Oath for Justice".
"It is correct that it does not exist. In fact, there was a sector in the former Yugoslav army, where the Inspector General of the Secretariat of Defense told him that it is actually the same act of duty. There are none in the Bosnian army. In our country, at the time of '98, it did not exist before the General Staff and the Kosovo Liberation Army were restructured. With its structuring, it has been decided to have the general inspector, as in every army, who controls and inspects the army", said the witness.
According to Roberts, the witness had told the ZPS that there was no role of Inspector General in the KLA before this role was taken by Selimi.
"Yes, it is correct", replied the witness.
Zyrapi also showed what Selimi was up to during '98 before he left for Albania.
"When I received the task from Mr. Bashota, I did not know this role of inspector because there was no structure then, I did not inform the structure what was before and I do not know what task he took after, but I know since July at this time has been with me since has helped to inform the local units and normally during the operation with the operations that there is no other option to take action except that the attacks started from the middle of July and until I came out we have behind our attacks the time and every time we are on the front lines. So we did not perform any other special task except for assistance as an operational issue in the areas we provided and headquarters", said Zyrapi.
Witness Zyrapi denied having seen any official decision at the time that Selimi was appointed Inspector General.
"No, at that time I did not see him. As Inspector General, I know that when we started the restructuring of the General Staff, then it was revealed that there is Inspector General and Selimi was appointed", he said.
Between the middle of September and October of that year, the witness claimed that he was in Albania and although there was fighting, he does not know what Selimi did during this time.
"How long has it been with me, during our time he has been at the front and every time he has been at the front line where he needs to be helped normally", said Zyrapi further.
Before the subject of the Inspector General, Roberts told the witness that he had told the ZPS that the kidnapping of civilians was common knowledge in the area and therefore asked the witness if he was talking only about the territory of Rahovec.
"Yes, I said normally. It was concrete for that time and that moment and not for the territory of Kosovo as a whole", said Zyrapi.
The witness claimed that he told the ZPS that he had no idea if there was any effort by the General Staff to decide if the prisoners had been taken and what had happened to them.
Zyrapi was asked that if the General Staff received a report that civilians had been captured and they had no information about these persons, what responsibility would the General Staff have at this point.
"The responsibility rested with the specific person who had committed this act and if the General Staff was informed and had nothing to do with this, they would have to give an explanation as to why this had happened," read the witness's response. attorney Roberts.
The witness claimed that he said this, adding that it was the responsibility of the commanders of the area whether civilians were taken or not.
"Yes, at that time," said Zyrapi.
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Defense: There were no KLA police under Selim's command
Roberts also asked the witness if any report had been given to him about the detention of prisoners at that time.
"Yes, I don't even know that it was given to any of the members of the Staff of the Operational Directorate", said Zyrapi.
Regarding this issue, the witness said that the General Staff did not have the opportunity to conduct investigations at that time, since the legal sector had to deal with it and that during this period it had not yet been formed.
"Even the structure of the Headquarters was not as it should be, let alone the structure of the investigation at that time", said Zyrapi.
Witness Zyrapi says that the incident in Rahovec had nothing to do with the General Staff
The 75th witness of the Specialized Prosecutor's Office (SPO), Bislim Zyrapi, is continuing his testimony in the trial against Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi on Wednesday. While talking about the incident in Rahovec, in which there was fighting and it is claimed that some Serb civilians were kidnapped, Zyrapi said that it had nothing to do with the General Staff of the Kosovo Liberation Army.
The witness is being interrogated by Selim's lawyer, Geoffrey Roberts, who focused on the incident in Rahovec, for which Zyrapi said that when he went there, the incident had already ended, reports "Oath of Justice".
Also, he said that neither he nor Selimi were aware of this plan before starting the fight in Rahovec.
Afterwards, Roberts asked the witness if it is fair to say that the discussion that may have taken place regarding the theoretical possibility of developing the operations, was far from the actual development of an operation at that time. To which, the witness answered 'yes correct'.
Asked if the members of the General Staff or the Operational Directorate were of the opinion that this was not something that the KLA could do at that time.
"Yes, I spoke in the conversation we had in the Operative Directorate at that time, they were of the same opinion that the units are not ready operatives for these actions and work should be done in this direction", said Zyrapi.
"(It was the opinion) of Mr. Selim, Bashota, mine, Agim (Qelaj), that we were in this directorate and that we worked together," he said.
Roberts continued by telling the witness that for the ZPS he had said that when he went to Rahovec, he was told that the fighting did not start from the General Headquarters, but from the local headquarters themselves.
Also, the witness stated that after he had gone to Rahovec, someone had told him that the initial actions were taken from the local Headquarters of Rahovec and the deputy commander of this headquarters was called 'Viktori', but that his real name was Gëzim Muabazi.
Roberts went on to quote what the witness had told the SPS, which in turn explained that he had indicated that 'Viktori' along with a group of soldiers had entered Rahovec to visit family, but had been discovered by Serbian forces. which were in the city and surrounded them.
Then, he explained that, according to the witness, he was told that other local Headquarters of Rahovec were also participants in the fighting, and that these fightings then expanded, asking for help from other units as well.
Regarding these words that were said to him regarding this event, the witness Zyrapi said that he could not doubt their authenticity.
"I have no reason to doubt. I have asked the command and the members of the local headquarters who have been with them, and then I have confirmed this from the conversations of these other colleagues of this headquarters, and so I do not doubt it", said Zyrapi, adding that this was how the members had explained it to him. of the local Headquarters of Rahovec about how the fighting had started there.
Zyrapi also added that after the war when he talked to some members of the command of that Headquarters, they said the same words to him every time.
In addition, he added that there were large Serbian forces during this time, including infantry and artillery, and that many Albanians were forced to leave Rahoveci.
"Approximately, just inside before this starts, there are somewhere close to 1 troops inside Rahovec as a whole as a municipality, and units have come from other directions. From the direction of Gjakova and Prizren, it is estimated that another 1 have arrived. In general, approximately 2 troops were in the direction of the attack with their weapons and escorting the heavy artillery or heavy weapons that they used at that time," Zyrapi continued.
Zyrapi said that the fact that he had seen Rexhep Selimi and Sokol Bashota who were helping to set up the defense lines. He said that it is correct to say that it was Selim who informed him of what they were trying to do.
"We were there for several days until we strengthened the defense line. In fact, we have behind four or five attacks by Serbian forces that tried to penetrate this front line. They said that we have been good for four or five days, not even more", said Zyrapi further.
According to attorney Roberts, the witness told the SPS that he did not know that Serbian civilians had been captured during this time because he had been on the front line and had not had time to look into these things because he had to go also on other front lines.
"Yes, it is very accurate", answered the witness, emphasizing that they did not have any such information.
Roberts also announced that his questions are expected to be completed before the lunch break.
At the beginning of the hearing, the presiding judge, Charles Smith III, gave an oral order regarding a list of material evidence, for which the ZPS had requested to be changed, while Thaci's defense excluded them.
"The judicial body recalls that on May 24, 2024 we informed the parties and participants that it would issue a procedural decision on the request of the ZPS to change the list of material evidence and on the request of Thaçi's defense to exclude the materials. After the Panel of the Court of Appeal had issued its decision on the issues arising from the decision of the single judge authorizing the investigative measures. The trial panel noted that the Panel of the Court of Appeal issued its decision on July 4, 2024. The trial panel recalls that Selim's defense, Vesel's defense, Krasniqi's defense requested a determination of the information sessions to constitute the submission according to rule 138 related to the material in question and the request of the ZPS and that of Thaçi's defense", said Smith III.
In this regard, Charles Smith III set the time limits for when the defense must make its submissions and when the SPS must make its responses to these submissions.
“If the defense wishes to make submissions regarding this decision of the Court of Appeal Panel, the defense is ordered to do so no later than July 16, 2024; any response to these submissions must be made no later than July 22, 2024. Other responses will not be accepted. This is where I close the oral order," Smith III said.
Thaçi's lawyer, Mishetiq, asked for clarification on whether Thaçi's defense will be included in this, but the judge spoke without a microphone and was not heard.
In this session, all the accused are present in the courtroom.
Otherwise, on September 30, 2022, the Office of the Specialized Prosecutor submitted the confirmed and amended indictment against Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi, which consists of ten counts, where the latter are charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.
On April 29, 2022, the Prosecutor's Office of Specialized had submitted an amended indictment against Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selim and Jakup Krasniqi, where it is claimed that the four accused have committed war crimes in Gjilan, Budakovo and Semetishte.
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Zyrapi: The General Staff has not managed to fulfill all the necessary capacities
On November 9, 2020, in their first appearances, Jakup Krasniqi and Hashim Thaçi pleaded not guilty to the charges against them. Veseli stated the same in his appearance on November 10, as did Rexhep Selimi on November 11.
The indictment against Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi was confirmed on October 26, 2020. /BetimipreDrejteşi
