Andrew Hughes

After the Basic Court in Pristina jailed Naser Kelmendi for six years, after finding him guilty of running a narcotics operation, Andrew Hughes, prosecutor for the EU rule-of-law mission in Kosovo, EULEX, said some witnesses had been threatened to pressurize them to change their testimonies.

A court in Kosovo on Thursday found Naser Kelmendi guilty of the "unauthorised possession with intent to distribute, sell and/or export/import dangerous narcotic drugs" and jailed him for six years.

The Basic Court in Pristina found Kelmendi not guilty of the murder of Ramiz Delacic, however, or of organised crime and other charges related to narcotics.

The Basic Court in Pristina on Tuesday ordered the release of Naser Kelmendi, the alleged Balkan drug baron, and said he should be put under house arrest.

The trial of Naser Kelmendi started in Prishtina on Friday with EULEX Special Prosecutor Andrew Hughes giving an opening statement in front of the Basic Court in Prishtina.

Media mogul and former Security Minister Fahrudin Radoncic has been forced on the defensive following reports that he was mentioned by name during the reading of the indictment of Naser Kelmendi, who is being tried in Kosovo for murder among other grave offences.