THE HAGUE: The UN war crimes tribunal has cleared Kosovo’s former prime minister of charges of torturing and murdering Serbs in a 1998-99 war, but sentenced his uncle to six years in jail for mistreating prisoners.
Ramush Haradinaj, a former commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) considered a hero by Kosovo Albanians, was acquitted of war crimes and crimes against humanity after judges found prosecutors had failed to prove a deliberate campaign to kill and expel Serb civilians from Kosovo.
Haradinaj’s uncle Lahi Brahimaj, another senior KLA figure, was cleared of most charges but convicted of personally participating in the cruel treatment of a detainee in a prison camp and ordering the mistreatment of another.
A third accused, Idriz Balaj, the commander of the KLA’s “Black Eagles” special unit, was cleared of all charges of torture, murder, rape and deportation.
The verdict was met with cheers and applause from a packed public gallery. In the Kosovo capital Pristina the sound of car horns, fireworks and gunfire greeted the verdict.
Prosecutors had sought prison sentences of 25 years for 39-year-old Haradinaj and his co-accused.
“Murders and attacks were not on a scale or of a frequency to conclude that there was an attack on the civilian population,” Judge Alphons Orie told the court.
Serbs had fled, judges concluded, for fear of being caught up in the conflict rather than that they were directly targeted. Kosovo Albanians had also fled, they noted.
Kosovo’s 90% Albanian majority declared independence in February. Serbia’s former province has been run by the UN since a 1999 Nato air war to halt Serb ethnic cleansing forced the pullout of Serb forces.
Judge Orie said witnesses had been intimidated throughout the trial and some had refused to testify.
“Many cited fear as a prominent reason for not appearing before the court,” said Judge Orie, adding that insecurity in Kosovo had exacerbated the situation.
This left prosecutors having to rely sometimes on the testimony of only one eye-witness.
Haradinaj, a former nightclub bouncer, was prime minister for only a few months until he resigned in 2005 after being indicted by the UN tribunal.
During the trial his defence lawyers said the soldier-turned-politician had fought an honourable war, targeting combatants not civilians.
“It had become clear from the evidence of prosecution witnesses that far from having behaved in a criminal fashion, Mr Haradinaj had at all times acted to prevent wrong-doing and protect civilian lives,” defence lawyer Michael O’ Reilly said.
He is the most senior former KLA guerrilla to be indicted over the war, in a case closely followed in Kosovo. – Reuters