EU Court in Kosovo Confirms Limaj Indictment

Rejecting the appeal, the EU-rule-of-law mission to Kosovo, EULEX, announced that the criminal case will proceed to main trial before the Basic Court of Pristina.

Fatmir Limaj is charged with organized crime, abusing his official position or authority, accepting bribes and non-declaration of received campaign money.

The three other defendants in the case, Endrit Shala, Nexhat Krasniqi and Florim Zuka, face similar charges.

The court of appeals dismissed the indictment in its entirety against three other defendants, Limaj’s brothers, Florim and Demir Lima, and another defendant, Gani Zogaj. Proceedings against these defendants have terminated, EULEX confirmed.

Limaj and the others are accused of manipulating tender procedures, giving and receiving bribes and obstructing evidence in relation to three tenders in the Ministry of Transport, Post and Telecommunications, MTPT.

The alleged value of the damage to the ministerial budget amounts to about 2 million euro.

Limaj is also charged with not declaring campaign money received when running in the Pristina mayoral elections in 2007 as well as other offences.

The defendants appealed against confirmation of the indictment last July.

EULEX recently raised a second indictment for corruption-related charges against Limaj and four others on similar charges to the MTPT case.

According to the prosecutor, these offences took place in 2008 while Limaj was Minister of Transport. The prosecution alleges damages to the budget of the ministry worth over 890,000 euro.

Limaj, a former Kosovo Liberation Army commander, was also one of ten suspects in the high-profile "Klecka" war crimes case, accused of abusing prisoners at a detention camp during the 1990s conflict...