26 August 2014

Today, during the initial hearing that took place at the Mitrovica Basic Court against five defendants the presiding judge instructed the defendants of their rights and checked the accuracy of their personal data contained in the indictment. Three defendants are accused of aggravated and attempted aggravated murder, whereas the other two defendants are accused of the incitement to commit these crimes. Furthermore, one defendant is accused of war crimes.

The presiding judge ascertained that the defense lawyers received all documents mentioned in the indictment. The prosecutor read relevant parts of the indictment, and the judge collected the plea of the defendants. All defendants pleaded not guilty to all counts of the indictment.

The defendants are also required to file motions, in written form, on the indictment no later than 26 September 2014. They also have the obligation according to article 256 and 254 para 2 of the Criminal Procedure Code to disclose their evidences to the prosecution.

After receiving their written submissions and the Prosecutor's reply to these, the presiding judge will issue a Ruling on Indictment.

In addition, two defendants have been served with the Rulings by which their detention on remand is extended by an additional period of two month since each of their detention periods expires. Therefore, one defendant was extended from 26 August 2014 to 26 October 2014, and the other was extended from 4 September 2014 to 4 November 2014.

Defendants may appeal the Rulings.