Hague Judges Reject Prosecutors' Demand for Near-Total Prison Visit Ban for Kosovo Liberation Army Leaders

The court will instead restrict non-family visits and increase monitoring of conversations, citing concerns over witness tampering and rights of the accused.

• International judges at The Hague rejected a demand by prosecutors for a nearly complete ban on prison visits for three former Kosovo Liberation Army leaders on trial for war crimes.
• The three defendants, including ex-President Hashim Thaci, face charges including murder, torture, and persecution during and after the 1998-1999 war with Serbia.
• Prosecutors argued that the three were attempting to tamper with witnesses and leak confidential testimony, but the judges ruled that the request was not 'proportional' and would erode the rights of the accused.
• The judges decided that visits from non-family members be restricted to five per month, and that the three couldn't meet all together as a group with individual visitors.
• The conversations of the defendants could face increased monitoring, and the court was set up in part due to fears about witness safety and security.

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