Former Prime Minister of Kosovo, Agim Ceku and 11 other defendants were acquitted of falsifying the list of Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) veterans and illegally providing welfare benefits to those who did not participate in the war.
Ceku, former minister of Defense, Rrustem Berisha, former MP Shkumbin Demaliaj, Nuredin Lushtaku and Shukri Buja, Sadik Halitjaha, Qele Gashi, Ahmet Daku, Faik Fazliu, Smajl Elezaj, Fadil Shurdhaj and Xhavit Jasharin were accused of abusing their official positions to approve names on the official list of KLA war veterans eligible for benefits.
Judge Nushe Kuka-Mekaj said that during this trial it was not proved that the accused had committed the criminal offenses as alleged by the Special Prosecution of the Republic of Kosovo (SPRK).
Agim Ceku called the decision as “just and good”.
Ceku, who was the head of the government’s commission to verify KLA veterans and other members, was indicted in 2018 based on prosecution’s claims that thousands of names who never fought were added to the veterans’ lists approved by institutions.
Prosecution claimed the defendants used their official positions to illegally benefit others, costing the state budget over 88 million euros.
About 40,000 people in Kosovo draw state pensions as war veterans, but according the prosecution half of those names are fake war veterans.
The indictment against Ceku and others was prepared by Prosecutor Elez Blakaj. He resigned in August 2018 stating he received threats by people who wanted him to drop the investigation.
Blakaj, who flew to United States of America also mentioned the name of Kosovo’s state prosecutor Aleksander Lumezi, as one of those putting interfering on the investigations of the case.
