BAKI Sadiki, a Kosovar Albanian suspected of drug trafficking, will likely receive a new trial now that the Justice Ministry has withdrawn its plan to challenge the decision that granted Sadiki a re-trial.
Originally, the ministry said that the justification for re-opening the trial had been fabricated by the Prešov Regional Court. Justice Minister Tomáš Borec is reluctant to explain why he did not file a special appeal against the re-trial, the Sme daily wrote in its November 5 issue.
“At the moment we do not consider it appropriate to publish the possible strategy in terms of legislation, especially at a time when the court proceeding is underway,” Justice Ministry spokesperson Alexandra Donevová told Sme.
The Supreme Court, which would possibly decide on such an appeal, confirmed that it did not receive a motion from the ministry.
The new trial is to start on November 7, Sme wrote.
On September 3, the Prešov Regional Court cancelled the original verdict for Sadiki, convicted of smuggling heroin from Turkey to Slovakia hidden in imported beach sandals, which effectively reopened his trial. After several years at large, Sadiki was arrested on October 25, 2012 as part of an Interpol operation called Infrared. In December, a Kosovo court in Gjilan cleared Sadiki for extradition to Slovakia.
The regional court suggested that a new trial was one of the conditions set by Kosovo for the extradition of Sadiki, which was later confirmed by an advisor to Kosovo’s justice minister, Dafina Bucaj, to Sme. She said that Kosovo does not acknowledge verdicts issued in absentia and thus it would request a new trial in any similar extradition case. Bucaj said the “request from Slovakia included the guarantee that he [Sadiki] will have the right to a new trial”, Sme reported in its September 18 issue.
Yet, the Justice Ministry denied agreeing to any such terms. Sme reported on September 11 that the right to a retrial influenced Kosovo’s decision to extradite Sadiki to Slovakia, but noted that this condition was not listed in the official extradition paperwork between the two countries. The Justice Ministry provided the document to Sme based on the Freedom of Information Act.
Source: Sme
To read more about the story please see: Sadiki retrial saga goes on
Compiled by Radka Minarechová from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
