At the Court of Appeal on Wednesday, the prosecution’s appeal against the decision of the Basic Court in Prishtina was reviewed, by which Bedri Krasniqi had been acquitted of the charge of threatening Shkumbin Mehmeti.
Against the decision of the Basic Court, the Basic Prosecution in Prishtina filed an appeal due to essential violations of legal provisions as well as an incorrect determination of the factual situation, requesting that the appealed judgment be annulled and the case returned for retrial, reports “Betimi për Drejtësi”.
The accused, Bedri Krasniqi, said that he has been in prison for 20 years and that no mitigating measure has ever been taken in his favor.
“Yesterday marked 20 years since I was put in prison. And for 20 years, not a single mitigating measure has ever been taken in my direction. The charges have never been separated from me for 20 years; never, not once have I been without charges,” Krasniqi said.
He added that he is concerned about the prosecution’s appeal to return the case for retrial, stating that “the Prosecution is not giving up on the charges.”
“I propose, as I proposed in the first instance, that this act never happened, Your Honor, but whatever you decide, I accept it because I no longer have the motivation, Your Honor, to continue with this matter since a very long time has passed,” he said.
The panel of the Court of Appeal consisted of Avdullah Ahmeti as presiding judge, Anita Krasniqi-Prenaj as reporting judge, and Mehmet Ndrecaj as member.
Otherwise, on September 13, 2023, Krasniqi was acquitted by the Basic Court of aggravated murder of two UNMIK officials, a decision that was also confirmed by the Court of Appeal in his case.
According to the indictment filed on October 31, 2019, on April 18, 2019, on the road from the High Security Prison in Gërdoc, Podujeva, toward Prishtina, the accused Bedri Krasniqi, with the intention of intimidating or causing anxiety, threatened the injured party, Shkumbin Mehmeti, during his transport to the Palace of Justice in Hajvali.
Furthermore, the indictment states that after both were placed in the same transport vehicle during the trip, the accused Krasniqi communicated with the injured party Mehmeti before entering the vehicle and during the transport, threatening him with the words: “How is your family? I know your family is in France and that your son has turned four; your brothers also work with some internet cables,” indicating to the injured party the possibility of reaching them.
According to the indictment, the accused then said: “It is better to take care of your family and not deal with other matters,” implying that he should not testify against the accused in the criminal case of aggravated murder. It is stated that with these words the accused seriously disturbed the injured party, making him fear that he might be deprived of life or that serious bodily harm could be caused to a member of his family.
With this, Krasniqi was charged with the criminal offense of “Threat” under Article 181, paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code, where the perpetrator is punishable by a fine or imprisonment of up to one year.
Note: The person/persons mentioned in this article are presumed innocent until a final court decision is issued.
