The initial appearance of Astrit Haraqija and Bajrush Morina has been scheduled for Tuesday, 29 April 2008 at 14.15 in courtroom I at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
Haraqija, former Kosovo Minister for Culture, Youth and Sport, and Morina, former political advisor to the Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport and editor of Bota Sot are accused of trying to persuade protected witness PW not to testify against former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) commander Ramush Haradinaj.
The witness was granted protective measures in 2005 and his unredacted witness statements disclosed by the Prosecution to the Defence in January and February 2007. The indictment states that upon learning of the identity of the witness in July 2007, Haraqija instructed Morina to travel to PW’s country of residence in order to persuade him not to testify against Haradinaj. The witness did not succumb to the pressure and eventually testified at the trial.
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