Jock Covey, who served as deputy to the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative Bernard Kouchner, continued his testimony at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague as the fourth witness called by the defense of former president Hashim Thaçi, who is being tried for alleged war crimes in a case alongside Jakup Krasniqi, Kadri Veseli, and Rexhep Selimi.

On the third day of his testimony in The Hague, Covey was responding to additional questions from Thaçi’s lead lawyer, Luka Mishetiq.

The defense asked him about some of his statements in which he had said that Thaçi’s relationship with KLA veterans was “hanging by a thread.”

The witness had said yesterday that Thaçi was very careful “not to pull the thread too hard because it might snap.”

This question was objected to by the prosecution, but the presiding judge, Charles Smith, overruled the objection.

Afterwards, the witness responded by mentioning a letter that Thaçi had sent at the time to Bernard Kouchner, requesting weapons for several individuals who were members of the KLA.

Covey said that in this way, they understood that Thaçi “was serving as a bridge.”

The session then moved into private session for several minutes.

Jock Covey’s testimony comes after the court heard the testimonies of former US Secretary of State James Rubin, the former legal adviser to Kosovo’s delegation at Rambouillet, and former British diplomat John Stewart Duncan.

The presentation of defense evidence began on September 15. Thaçi’s defense has planned to bring a total of 11 witnesses, after which two more are expected to testify, called by the defense of Jakup Krasniqi.

The presentation of defense evidence is expected to conclude by mid-November, while the trial panel expects the defense teams to submit their final briefs by December 22 of this year.

Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi, and Rexhep Selimi are accused of alleged war crimes. They have been in detention since November 2020.

The news is being updated