Former member of the Kosovo Liberation Army, Pjetër Shala has been sentenced by the Special Court to 18 years in prison.

He was found guilty of the following counts of the indictment: count 1. arbitrary detention, count 3. torture, count 4 illegal murder, being sentenced to 6 years for prison detention, 16 years for torture and 18 for illegal murder, including and detention time.

Shala tried to speak, but was not allowed by the court.

"The trial body finds that each of the constituent elements of arbitrary detention as a war crime, point 1, torture-point 3 and unlawful killing-point 4 have been met. As for the cruel treatment as a war crime-point 2, the trial body points out that the basic facts of the accusation of cruel treatment are identical to the basic facts of the accusation of torture, said the president of the trial panel", said the president of the trial panel, Mappie Veldt-Foglia.

The Specialized Prosecutor's Office requested that the sentence be 28 years of imprisonment.

In this trial, the SPS called 10 witnesses to testify, while the Victims' Advocate called two witnesses, and the Defense 10 witnesses.

The trial against Shala began on February 21, 2023. Shala pleaded not guilty to four counts of indictment - arbitrary detention, cruel treatment, torture and unlawful killing.

According to the indictment, Pjetër Shala and some soldiers, policemen and guards of the KLA between May 17, 1999 and June 5, 1999 "took part in the arbitrary detention, cruel treatment, torture and in one case in the illegal killing of a detainee in the factory of metal in Kukës, Albania".

Shala was arrested in March 2021 in Belgium and was transferred to detention in The Hague in April of that year.