The verdict against Gucat and Haradinaj, the lawyer: They may be acquitted or given a light sentence

Hysni Gucati and Nasim Haradinaj, the two former heads of the KLA veterans' organization, appear today before the Special Court to hear the judgment of the Appeal against them. Lawyer Artan Qerkini tells Express Newspaper that they can be released if the evidence is evaluated differently in the second degree, or at least receive a lower sentence.

The Court of Appeal of the Specialized Chambers in The Hague will pronounce the verdict today against the former heads of the Organization of Veterans of the War of the Liberation Army of Kosovo (OVL-UÇK), Hysni Gucati and Nasim Haradinaj. The hearing is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.

Gucati and Haradinaj were found guilty of obstructing the administration of justice, intimidation of witnesses and violation of the secrecy of the procedure and were sentenced to four and a half years of imprisonment in the first instance, on May 18, 2022. Lawyer accredited by the Special Court, Artan Qerkini believes that they could be released today, in case the Court of Appeals would evaluate the evidence differently.

"Of course, we would probably expect an acquittal if the Court of Appeals evaluated the evidence differently. If the Court of Appeal would assess that the publication of this information had a legitimate public purpose to inform the public about the sources of information or evidence used by the Special Court; if he were to evaluate it in this context, then I think there could be an acquittal or at least an eventual mitigation of the sentence, which is very high, considering that they have not been convicted of criminal offenses related to war crimes", said Look around.