KOSOVO: KURTI TRIAL OPENS BEFORE PACKED COURTROOM,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PRISTINA 000706

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR, EUR/SCE, DRL, INL, AND S/WCI, NSC FOR BRAUN,
USUN FOR DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI, USOSCE FOR STEVE STEGER, OPDAT
FOR ACKER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/11/2017
TAGS: PGOV KJUS KCRM EAID KDEM UNMIK KV
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: KURTI TRIAL OPENS BEFORE PACKED COURTROOM,
BUT QUICKLY RECESSES

REF: A. PRISTINA 112

B. PRISTINA 164

C. PRISTINA 453

Classified By: COM TINA KAIDANOW FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D)


1. (C) SUMMARY: On September 19, Self-Determination Movement
(SDM) leader Albin Kurti's trial began in a circus-like
atmosphere before an international three-judge panel and a
packed courtroom on charges stemming from his instigation of
violence at the February 10 SDM demonstration that left two
protesters dead. After a shouting match between the
presiding judge and Kurti on whether Kurti could read a
rambling statement criticizing UNMIK and questioning the
impartiality of the process, the judge ruled the statement
irrelevant. However, in an incomprehensible move, the judge
agreed to consider a motion by Kurti to remove the
three-judge panel altogether on the grounds that it had
denied his freedom of speech. The judge then sent the motion
for decisioQo the Pristina District Court and recessed the
trial indefinitely. While Amcit prosecutor Eli Koppel
(protect) told us he was confident he could convict Kurti,
nothing UNMIK DOJ has done in the last eight months inspires
deep confidence that a conviction will ensue. We will
continue to follow this case closely. END SUMMARY.

Kurti trial opens before a packed courtroom


2. (SBU) Vetevendosje/Self-Determination Movement (SDM)
leader Albin Kurti's criminal trial commenced on September 19
in Pristina District Court, before a packed courtroom of
35-40 people and an international three-judge panel
consisting of Mauricio Salustro (Italy, presiding),Norbert
Koster and American citizen John Fields. Much to everyone's
surprise, the first order of business was the reading of a
new indictment related to alleged criminal offenses Kurti
committed during the February 10 demonstration (see para 6).
Its reading caused some confusion, prompting defense attorney
Ahmet Hasolli to ask whether the proceeding was the main
trial or a confirmation hearing of the new indictment.


3. (SBU) Once the confusion was cleared up and the main trial
got underway, Kurti took the floor and asked to make a
statement in Albanian. He also provided an English
translation (e-mailed to EUR/SCE),which he wanted the
interpreter to read out loud. Shortly after he started to
speak, Presiding Judge Salustro interrupted him and asked him
whether his oral statement would be the same as the written
statement he provided in English. Kurti defiantly asked
Salustro not to interrupt him since he had not interrupted
the judge. Salustro ordered Kurti to "shut up," and the
defense attorney jumped into the fray, asking the judge to
let Kurti make his statement. Salustro explained that it was
the court's duty to ensure that Kurti's statement was
relevant to the proceedings. He then called a 10-minute
recess, ordering everyone out of the room, so the three
judges could review the written statement.

Motion to dismiss judges results in recess


4. (SBU) When the trial resumed, Salustro explained that
Kurti's written statement was irrelevant and therefore could
not be read during the trial. Salustro also noted that
Kurti's written statement contained "something about not
accepting the judges," and asked if Kurti's objection was
political in nature or if he indeed did not accept the three
judges seated before him on technical grounds. After a brief
shouting match, during which Kurti complained of his freedom
of speech being denied, Salustro asked Kurti whether he would
object if there were three different judges sitting before
him. Kurti responded, "I object to you," and clarified that
he would have to see the three different judges to decide
whether to accept them. Salustro threw up his hands and said
that they must cease all activities and send the motion to
the Pristina District Court because KurQwas in fact making
a motion to dismiss the three-judge panel. He called for a

PRISTINA 00000706 002 OF 002


recess, and just as he started to set a new date, Kurti's
court-appointed lawyer piped up and informed him that he did
not have the competency to do so under Kosovo law. Salustro
then recessed the trial indefinitely.

Kurti's statement quickly spread around Pristina


5. (SBU) As the crowd spilled out of the courtroom, Kurti's
supporters passed out photocopies of his statement in
Albanian and English. It quickly spread throughout the
Kosovo media that afternoon, likely grabbing more attention
than it would have if he had read it in the courtroom. In
his statement, Kurti railed against the international judges
and his own court-appointed attorney, questioning the judges'
impartiality and complaining about the justice of UNMIK
judging and prosecuting a case in which it also claims to be
the victim of SDM's violent tactQ. He accused local and
international authorities of making defamatory public remarks
about him and SDM, and quoted organizations like the German
Institute for European Politics, which faulted UNMIK for
creating a "'culture of systematic repression of criticism'
in order to portray Kosovo as a success story."

Prosecutor confident of case against Kurti, surprised by new
indictment


6. (C) During a break in the trial and in subsequent e-mail
exchanges, Prosecutor Eli Koppel (protect) told USOP that he
believes the case is strong against Kurti for instigating the
violence on February 10 that left two protesters dead. He
stressed that no one is contesting the facts, and claimed he
could make the case in two days, but will likely need five or
six days "given that this is Kosovo." While he will rely on
a few reliable eyewitnesses, Koppel said the bulk of his case
will rest on videotaped footage of the February 10
demonstration. He also told us that he did not file the new
indictment and only saw it for the first time on September

18. (Note: The new indictment was filed on the 17th by the
municipal public prosecutor's office under Article 316(3) of
the Criminal Code, charging obstruction of official persons
in the performance of their duties of maintaining public
security. Why the municipal public prosecutor's office would
engage itself in this way is unclear, as is much else about
the bizarre proceedings of this case. End Note.)


7. (C) COMMENT: UNMIK DOJ's handling of this case has varied
from incomprehensible to appalling. While we are glad to
hear a US prosecutor expressing confidence, nothing that has
happened in the last eight months -- from Kurti's "catch and
release" detention to these latest farcical proceedings --
gives us any real encouragement that a conviction will ensue.
We will continue to follow the labyrinth course of these
proceedings and push UNMIK DOJ to bring its case to court
without further delay.
KAIDANOW