The defense team of former Speaker of the Kosovo Assembly, Kadri Veseli, concluded its presentation of the closing statement in the largest trial taking place in The Hague against former KLA leaders. Veseli’s lawyer, Rodney Dixon, said that Kadri Veseli is completely innocent and asked the trial panel to dismiss the claims of the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office (SPO) due to lack of evidence.

Dixon, who began delivering his closing arguments yesterday in The Hague, stated that Kadri Veseli is not involved in any of the crimes alleged by the SPO.

“My client is not involved in any of the crimes the Prosecution claims he committed… The SPO seems to be dragging us along with it into the chaos of the ‘Lord of the Flies.’ According to the SPO, any kind of association has meaning as long as it serves them, and as a result, in our view, the SPO does not support or confirm any of its allegations at all. On the other hand, there are many points that prove my client is completely innocent, and we submit that the Prosecution’s position should be dismissed,” he said.

Lawyer Dixon said that Kadri Veseli deserves a fair trial, to be released and acquitted of all charges; otherwise, he said, it would be a great injustice.

“It is wrong for the SPO to pursue individuals like Veseli in vain, in the hope that it will bring some spiritual resolution for victims. We can see from the empty reflection of the SPO that this ‘joint criminal enterprise’ cannot be presented without the component of the intelligence service… Justice is a constant that gives a person and the victim what they deserve, and victims deserve what belongs to them, just as Mr. Veseli deserves what belongs to him. He deserves a fair and proper trial; he should be released and acquitted of all charges. Otherwise, it would be a great injustice,” Dixon said.

Dixon further stated that the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office claims that Veseli facilitated the distribution of KLA statements and provided the information that served as the basis for those communiqués.

However, he emphasized that there is no concrete evidence linking Veseli to these statements and described the allegations as general, vague, and unfounded.

“According to the SPO, my client facilitated the distribution of KLA statements that formed the backbone of the policies regarding collaborators. My client allegedly provided the entire factual backbone for all statements and declarations, and it is also claimed that he gave the information later reflected in those communiqués — that everything came from him, according to the SPO. Meanwhile, there is not a single piece of evidence supporting this claim. It is necessary to create some kind of link between Veseli and the communiqués because that is the only way he can be connected to crimes. However, this is a desperate attempt by the SPO to blame my client and it provides no evidence to support or confirm this. Even the language used by the SPO is vague and general. The SPO says that Veseli received, assessed, transferred, and provided intelligence information that formed the basis of the communiqués,” Dixon said.

After the lunch break, the closing statement of the defense team of Rexhep Selimi will continue.

Closing arguments at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague began on Monday in the largest trial being held there.

The closing statements started with the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office (SPO), where Chief Prosecutor Kimberly West requested 45-year prison sentences for Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi, and Jakup Krasniqi.