In the court hearing regarding the murder of Liridona Ademaj, the trial panel rejected the proposals of the defense attorneys of the accused, Naim Murseli, Kushtrim Kokalla, and Granit Plava, for the supplementation of the evidentiary procedure.
Once again today, the defendants were brought to court in handcuffs and escorted under high security.
At the very beginning of the hearing, the defendant Naim Murseli requested a consultation with his lawyer.
Initially, the presiding judge of the trial panel, Fatmire Dërmaku, announced that the defense attorneys of the accused had submitted new requests.
The defense of Naim Murseli requested a reconstruction of the crime scene, while the lawyer of the accused Kushtrim Kokalla requested that witness Tafil Kokalla be heard.
Meanwhile, the defense attorney of Granit Plava requested an additional expert examination regarding his client’s psychological condition at the time the criminal offense was committed.
Presiding judge Fatmire Dërmaku stated that the prosecution had left it to the discretion of the trial panel to decide on the requests of the defense for Kokalla and Plava.
“The lawyer of the accused Kushtrim Kokalla, Ndrec Doda, proposed the hearing of witness Tafil Kokalla in the capacity of a witness, while on January 23, 2026, the defense attorney of the accused Granit Plava, Skender Gojani, submitted a request seeking an additional expert examination regarding the psychological condition of Granit Plava at the time the criminal offense was committed. Additionally, on January 27, 2026, the defense attorneys of the accused Naim Murseli, Teuta Zhinipotoku and Shemsedin Piraj, submitted a request seeking a reconstruction of the crime scene, the presentation as evidence of a CD containing communication between the accused and his children, as well as phone mapping of the devices used on the critical day,” she said.
Regarding the request by Naim Murseli’s defense for a reconstruction of the crime scene, prosecutor Javorka Perlinçeviq considered it untimely.
“At the hearing held on December 22, 2025, the court granted all parties the opportunity to submit proposals for new evidence by January 9, 2026. I consider this proposal to have been submitted outside the legal deadline, that the court’s instruction was not respected, and therefore it should not be accepted,” she said.
The reconstruction of the crime scene and the additional psychiatric expertise for the accused Granit Plava were also opposed by the lawyer of the Ademaj family, Leutrim Syla, who said that these would not change the factual situation.
As for hearing Tafil Kokalla as a witness, there was agreement from the defense of the Ademaj family.
“There is no need to give lectures on criminal procedure… The parties have the right to propose evidence until the end of the main trial. The arguments of the colleague representing the injured party that the proposals are not relevant are incorrect; these are very relevant. We know that there were not many witnesses at the crime scene, which is why we proposed the reconstruction of the scene. This relates precisely to the findings of the forensic medicine expert, Professor Naim Uka… Timeliness is not an issue,” he stated.
That the trial panel had rejected the defense proposals for supplementing the evidentiary procedure was confirmed by presiding judge Fatmire Dërmaku.
“The defense proposals for supplementing the evidentiary procedure are rejected, specifically the proposal of the defense attorney of the accused Kushtrim Kokalla, Ndrec Doda, to hear witness Tafil Kokalla, as such testimony is not relevant and would not contribute to clarifying the case. The proposal of the defense attorney of Granit Plava, Skender Gojani, for an additional psychiatric expert examination is also rejected, as the court considers it unfounded and unsupported by concrete evidence. The accused has already undergone a psychiatric evaluation, there were no objections to it, the expert was present in the courtroom, and both the defense and the accused asked questions, meaning these claims could have been addressed at that time. The proposal of the defense attorneys of Naim Murseli for the reconstruction of the crime scene is also rejected, as the court considers that the facts presented are not disputed between the parties and have been sufficiently elaborated during the hearing of witnesses,” she stated.
The trial panel also rejected the request of Naim Murseli’s defense to present as evidence a CD of his communication with his children, as well as the extraction of phone mapping data.
Liridona Ademaj was killed on November 29, 2023, at 8:25 p.m., on “Dalip Alshiqi” Street in the village of Bërnicë, Pristina.
