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Convicted KLA veteran leader Nasim Haradinaj: "Criminal and not patriotic"
Photo: PIROSCHKA VAN DE WOUW / REUTERS
The special tribunal for the Kosovo war in The Hague, which is supported by the EU, has issued its first verdict: it sentenced two leaders of a veteran organization of the former Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK) to four and a half years in prison, among other things, for intimidating witnesses.
According to the tribunal, Hysni Gucati, former chairman of the KLA Veterans Association, and his deputy Nasim Haradinaj published hundreds of names of witnesses and possible witnesses and also insulted them as “traitors”, “spies” and “collaborators”.
"In the context of the long-standing climate of witness intimidation in Kosovo," they wanted to deter witnesses from testifying against former members of the militia, the tribunal found.
Both men also obstructed the work of the court and released confidential documents.
"This verdict clearly presents the offenses for what they are: criminal and not patriotic," Chief Justice Charles Smith said at the sentencing.
Gucati and Haradinaj had previously protested their innocence.
Tribunal is largely funded by the EU
The court, which is largely financed by the European Union, but also by the USA and other countries, is part of the Kosovan judicial system, but is staffed by international judges and prosecutors.
It had been moved to The Hague because of dangers to witnesses.
In the Kosovo War (1998-1999), Kosovar Albanians fought for independence from Serbia.
More than 10,000 people, mostly Albanians, had been killed.
About a million people were displaced.
Serbia withdrew only after NATO airstrikes.
Kosovo declared its independence in 2008.
Crimes committed by Serbian politicians and soldiers were prosecuted by the UN war crimes tribunal on the former Yugoslavia in The Hague.
More judgments could follow
It is the first judgment of the tribunal, which was issued in 2015 in response to international pressure.
It is to prosecute war crimes that are blamed on the UÇK.
Since autumn 2021, the ex-UCK commander Salih Mustafa has had to answer for the torture and murder of prisoners, among other things.
The court also wants to put ex-UCK President Hashim Thaçi on trial for murder, torture and persecution (read more here).
Thaçi resigned as President of Kosovo after the indictment in the summer of 2020.
fek/dpa/AFP
