Kosovo war crimes suspect acquitted
Former guerrilla commander Ramush Haradinaj and 2 codefendants are cleared of crimes against humanity, a move expected to provoke tensions in the Balkans.
ROME -- The most senior Kosovo Albanian suspect to be prosecuted by the U.N. war crimes tribunal was cleared today of all counts involving the murder, rape and torture of Serb civilians.
The acquittal of Ramush Haradinaj, a former guerrilla commander and prime minister of the breakaway province, is expected to inflame tensions in the Balkans, where Kosovo's ethnic Albanians have declared independence and Serbs adamantly oppose the move.
Haradinaj and two codefendants were accused of mounting a "criminal enterprise" to abuse, kill and expel Serbs and other minorities in 1998 during the Kosovo Albanians' fight to be rid of Serbian rule. The armed conflict between ethnic Albanians and Serbian forces was ended the following year by a NATO bombing campaign that drove the Serbian military out of the province.
The trial at the international tribunal at The Hague drew special attention because United Nations officials were accused of giving preferential treatment to Haradinaj. Former lead prosecutor Carla Del Ponte accused U.N. officials who have administered Kosovo since the NATO campaign of deliberately obstructing the investigation into Haradinaj's alleged crimes.
Presiding judge Alphons Orie prefaced his reading of the verdict today with a lament that around 20% of the witnesses who were subpoenaed refused to testify out of fear. Several witnesses also disappeared or died under mysterious circumstances. Many of the alleged victims were fellow ethnic Albanians who did not support Haradinaj's faction.
As Orie read out the not guilty verdicts, Haradinaj's supporters in the courtroom erupted in applause and cheers. In Kosovo, where television stations were broadcasting the verdicts live, celebrations were also on tap.
Haradinaj and two codefendants, like him fighters in the guerrilla Kosovo Liberation Army, were acquitted of crimes against humanity. Haradinaj and Idriz Balaj were cleared of all additional charges, while the third defendant, Lahi Brahimaj, was found guilty on two counts of torture and cruel treatment of a prisoner. He was sentenced to six years in prison.
wilkinson@latimes.com
