23 August 2013

A EULEX pre-trial judge at Mitrovica Basic Court granted the request of the prosecutor to extend for two months detention on remand for seven defendants in a war crimes case. The judge rejected the request for termination of detention filed by the defence council of one of the defendants.

Detention on remand against defendants S.J., A.Z., S.L., H.T., J.D., Z.D., and S.S. is extended until 23 October 2013.

The pre-trial judge reviewed the prosecutor’s application, the submission by the defendants and the case file, and he found that from the time the measure of house detention was applied on 24 May 2013 and later detention on remand was imposed by the Court of Appeals on 31 May 2013 and then extended on 23 June 2013, there have been no changes in the specific circumstances which established the conditions for imposing such measure.

The defendants are suspected of committing in co-perpetration the criminal offence of War Crimes against the Civilian Population under multiple counts.