ROME — The most senior Kosovo Albanian to be prosecuted by the U.N. war crimes tribunal was cleared Thursday of all counts involving the murder and torture of Serb civilians, a verdict that quickly inflamed passions across the Balkans.
The decision to acquit and free Ramush Haradinaj, a former guerrilla commander and prime minister of Kosovo, was met with joy and cheers in the breakaway province, but fury in Serbia, where the credibility of the 15-year-old tribunal was immediately assailed.
Kosovo, with U.S. backing, declared independence six weeks ago, a move Serbia adamantly, and sometimes violently, opposes.
"This is a verdict that strengthens Kosovo," Haradinaj said in a statement.
In Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, where Haradinaj is considered a national hero, cars filled the streets, many adorned with red Albanian flags and their horns blaring in celebration. He is expected to return today.
Haradinaj's tearful wife, Anita, said: "Ramush is coming to an independent Kosovo that he made happen."
But troubling questions were raised about the efficacy of the trial at the international war crimes tribunal at The Hague. Many witnesses were too afraid to testify, and several disappeared or died under mysterious circumstances, court officials said.
Haradinaj's lawyers were so confident of victory that they did not present a defense.
The trial drew special attention because United Nations officials gave preferential treatment to Haradinaj, a favored U.S. ally. He was allowed to remain free and participate in Kosovo politics long after his indictment. Former lead prosecutor Carla Del Ponte accused U.N. officials administering Kosovo of deliberately obstructing the investigation into Haradinaj's alleged crimes.
Haradinaj, 39, and two co-defendants were accused of mounting a "widespread and systematic campaign" to abuse, kill and expel Serbs and other minorities in 1998 during the Kosovo Albanians' uprising against Serbian rule. The armed conflict between the guerrilla Kosovo Liberation Army and Serbian forces was ended the following year by a North Atlantic Treaty Organization bombing offensive that drove out the Serbian military.
Presiding Judge Alphons Orie said Thursday that there was evidence that KLA guerrillas committed many of the crimes listed in the indictment, but that the acts were "not on a scale or frequency" to establish a wider campaign against the civilian population.
