Eurasia Press & News
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, will deliver its verdict in the case against the former leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA, Ramush Haradinaj on November 29.Haradinaj, Lahi Brahimaj and Idriz Balaj are accused of being a part of a joint criminal enterprise and crimes against Kosovo Albanians, Serbs and Roma in the Jablanica detention camp.
This is the second trial for all three men. In 2008, Haradinaj and Balaj were acquitted of all war crimes charges following a three-year trial at the ICTY. Brahimaj was sentenced to six years for cruel treatment and torture.
They were returned to the ICTY for a partial retrial after the prosecution convinced an appeals judge that the court had not been given sufficient time to hear evidence from two key witnesses.
The trio were previously indicted on charges related to the murder, kidnap, torture and rape of Serbs, Roma and Albanians between March and September 1998.
Haradinaj, 43, was indicted in 2004 while serving as Kosovo’s prime minister and voluntarily surrendered to the tribunal. The leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, AAK, he enjoys widespread political support in Kosovo.
The former KLA commander for the Dukagjini zone, Haradinaj was released provisionally in mid-July pending the final verdict in the retrial. He is under house arrest in Priština and will be transferred to the tribunal’s detention unit ahead of the final ruling.
The AAK has said it expects an acquittal and his return to politics.
