Eurasia Press & News
The appellate chamber at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has ordered a partial retrial of the case of Ramush Haradinaj and two other former commanders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), and the immediate detention of the three men.
The court ordered the retrial largely because of claims from the prosecution that a number of witnesses had been intimidated over the course of the trial.
Haradinaj, Idriz Balaj and Lahi Brahimaj were initially charged with crimes committed between March 1 and September 30, 1998 in the Dukagjin area of western Kosovo against the non- ethnic Albanian population and ethnic Albanians which the KLA believed were cooperating with Serbs.
In April 2008, Haradinaj and Balaj were acquitted by a first instance verdict on all charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Brahimaj was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment for cruel treatment and torture of two persons at the Jablanica/Jabllanice headquarters of the KLA.
The trial chamber’s verdict found Brahimaj guilty of cruel treatment and torture of two victims who had perceived ties, or were believed to be collaborating with Serbs.
After the first instance verdict was rendered, Haradinaj and Balaj were released. They both returned to the tribunal in the Hague to hear the second instance decision. Brahimaj was released as the appeals process was carried out, but was put into custody earlier this month to await the appeals ruling.
After ordering the retrial today, the appellate chamber ordered the men to be placed in detention immediately.
The court’s decision to call for a retrial, as well as Haradinaj’s presence in the courtroom to hear the second instance verdict today, came as a surprise to many in Kosovo.
Initially the judge had given Haradinaj and Balaj the option whether to attend the hearing and the former PM had written on Monday, July 12, to the tribunal saying he would not be present.
He learnt one week later, on Monday, July 19, that an arrest warrant had been issued by the court and on Tuesday morning he was escorted by EULEX police to the airport. An EULEX spokeswoman told Balkan Insight that Haradinaj went voluntarily to the airport.
One senior member of Haradinaj’s political party, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, AAK, who asked not to be named, told Balkan Insight that he feared the retrial could lead to an outbreak of violence in Kosovo, adding that the decision had come as a complete surprise.
Last night, members of the Quint, the ambassadors from the five most powerful supporters of Kosovo, met to discuss the issue.
During the war in Kosovo Haradinaj was a commander of the KLA, Balaj was the commander of the Black Eagles Unit within the KLA, and Brahimaj a KLA member stationed in the force’s Jabllanice headquarters in Gjakove municipality.
By the first instance verdict, all three are found not guilty of joint criminal enterprise, but the appellate chamber accepted the prosecution appeal and dismissed this decision, ordering the retrial.
The prosecution requested the retrial in October last year, claiming that Haradinaj and Balaj were found not guilty because witnesses were “threatened and blackmailed” and could not deliver necessary testimony.
The prosecution had asked the trial chamber for additional time to question two witnesses they claimed were threatened because they had knowledge of important facts about the accused, but the request was denied.
In its appeal, the prosecution argued that the trial chamber had made a mistake in refusing to allow additional time.
The appeals chamber found that the first instance chamber had indeed erred in not taking the necessary action to secure the testimonies.
The prosecution claims that witnesses, among others Shefqet Kabashi, a former KLA member, refused to testify after being threatened. Kabashi came to the courtroom, but barely answered any questions. However, he said that the witnesses were being killed in Kosovo and that protective measures granted by the ICTY did not mean anything outside the courtroom.
The chamber indicted Kabashi in 2008 for contempt of the court, but before the trial, Kabashi left the Netherlands and returned to his place of residence in the US.
According to the prosecution, Kabashi told them that Balaj and Brahimaj, in the presence of Haradinaj, beat prisoners in the camp in Jabllanice.
Another witness who was given protective measures refused to testify. The prosecution claims both feared for their personal security.
During the trial, which lasted for three years, the security of witnesses was questioned on a number of occasions.
Ramush Haradinaj is a well known political figure in Kosovo, and his trial was watched closely. He was prime minister of Kosovo at the time he was indicted by the ICTY.
He was selected for the post in 2004 after his AAk party came in third in the elections and formed a coalition government with Kosovo’s largest party.
The move caused an outcry in Serbia, which called for him to be indicted and accused the international community of cuddling up to a war criminal.
Under pressure, Haradinaj resigned and surrendered to the tribunal in March 2005.
After he was acquitted in 2008, he was welcomed back to Pristina, where many see him as a hero and his record as prime minister won him respect amongst many Kosovo Albanians and in the international community.
The ICTY has indicted a total of 11 individuals, both Serbs and Kosovo Albanians, for crimes committed in Kosovo.
