By Greg Hall
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe
PRISTINA, Kosovo – A European Union judge has charged ten former fighters of the Kosovo Liberation Army, including a senior Kosovo politician and former rebel leader Fatmir Limaj. According to the court papers, Limaj is charged with ordering the execution of two former Serbian policemen and torturing a third. The crimes allegedly took place between early 1999 and June of 1999 when Kosovo came under U.N. and NATO control.
Initially the EU issued an arrest warrant for Limaj but retracted the warrant after protests from Kosovo authorities who claimed Limaj was protected by immunity as a member of Kosovo’s parliament.
Limaj contends he is innocent and was not even in the area when the alleged war crimes took place. He stated, “everyone knows I am innocent and that I was in Albania during the time that I am being accused of. The Kosovo Liberation Army staff know of this.”
Limaj has stated before that he has no regrets over his past as a member of the ethnic Albania guerilla movement that fought a separatist war against Serbia. Limaj’s attorney said there is no date set for trial.
In 2005, a U.N. war crimes court cleared Limaj of charges alleging he tortured and killed ethnic Albanian detainees in a prison camp in central Kosovo. The court said there was not enough evidence to prove the allegations. Currently, Limaj is also under investigation for alleged embezzlement of public funds when he served as transport minister in Kosovo’s previous government.
Seventy-two days of NATO airstrikes ended the conflict between the Kosovo Liberation Army and the Serb forces. Since then, Kosovo has been governed by the United Nations and the European Union. The Kosovo government has gradually assumed more powers and three years ago declared its independence from Serbia. However, Serbia does not recognize Kosovo’s independence along with Russia and China.
For more information, please see:
AlertNet – EU judge accuses 10 Kosovo Albanians of war crimes – 2 September 2011
Arab News – EU judge accuses Kosovo Albanians of war crimes – 2 September 2011
Canada TV – Senior Kosovo leader to be tried of war crimes – 2 September 2011
