By Alexandra Sandacz
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands – Ramush Haradinaj, a former guerrilla fighter in Kosovo and a former prime minister, was acquitted of war crimes. Haradinaj was charged with the torture and murder of Serb civilians and suspected collaborators while he was a commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army during its fight for independence in 1999.

According to court documents, detainees were “given very little food or water, were regularly beaten and subjected to other forms of physical mistreatment, and denied medical treatment for their injuries. A number of prisoners … died as a result of their injuries, or were executed on orders of the accused.”

Aleksandar Vulin, the head of the Serbian government office for Kosovo, commented, “An acquittal of Haradinaj by the ICTY would be a message that it is allowed to kill Serbs in Kosovo. How can we talk about the fate of missing persons, justice for those killed and return of those exiled, if a man who talk part in all this is set free?

In 2008, Ramush Haradinaj’s was initially acquitted of the suspected war crimes. However, his acquittal was overturned. The appeal judges determined that a retrial was necessary because of witness intimidation. Despite his retrial in 2010, Haradinaj and co-defendants, Idriz Balaj and Lahi Brahimaj, were cleared of all charges.

Judge Bakone Moloto said that although there was evidence that the Serbs and their supporters were beaten at a KLA compound in Kosovo and at least one of them had died from their injuries, there was, however, no evidence of Haradinaj’s involvement in the attacks.

Mr Haradinaj’s lawyer, Ben Emmerson, stated, “With the consent of the people, he [Ramush Haradinaj] will soon be resuming his rightful position as the political leader of the country.” Subsequently, Haradinaj’s face appeared on billboards in Kosovo with the slogan, “the leader who keeps his word” and “forward with a clean slate”.

President Tomislav Nikolic of Serbia, claimed the tribunal for the former Yugoslavia was “formed to try the Serbian people” for the wars of the 1990s. However, he continued, “Nobody will be convicted for the horrible crimes against Kosovo Serbs.”

In fact, Amnesty International expected that nearly 800 non-Albanians were detained and killed by Kosovo rebels during the 1990s, but few people suspected of such crimes were prosecuted in Kosovo.

The judges ordered Haradinaj and two of his associates to be released immediately. After spending almost four years in jail, Haradinaj returned to Kosovo and was welcomed by the prime minister and cheers by large crowds on the streets.

For further information, please see:

BBC News – Kosovo ex-PM Ramush Haradinaj cleared of war crimes – 29 November 2012

NBC News – Kosovo ex-premier Haradinaj cleared of war crimes again – 29 November 2012

The New York Times – War Crimes Court Frees Former Leader of Kosovo – 29 November 2012

The Guardian – Ramush Haradinaj awaits new verdict on Balkan war crimes charges – 25 November 2012

By Madeline Schiesser
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

WARSAW, Poland – On Tuesday, Poland’s Constitutional Court ruled that religious, or ritual, slaughter of animals used to produce kosher and halal meat is in violation of the constitution.  The ruling comes weeks before a European Union law is to take effect allowing the practice.

Animal rights groups had petitioned Attorney General Andrzej Seremet to bring the case before the court.  In June, Seremet argued that ritual slaughter for religious purposes was unconstitutional, and that a 2004 amendment allowing the practice violated a 1997 animal rights law permitting slaughter only “following the loss of consciousness” after stunning.

Although former Agricultural Minister Wojciech Olejniczak has claimed that the purpose of the 2004 amendment was to place Polish laws in line with those of the EU, the court ruled that, in the words of Judge Zbigniew Cieslak, “a decree that is supposed to serve in the execution of a law, and the realization of its goals, cannot be in opposition to it.”

The ruling brings Poland into conflict with current international EU laws, and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which includes sections on religious freedoms, such as the practice of ritual slaughter of animals.

Jewish and Muslim clerics have insisted that stunning an animal before slaughter is inconsistent with Jewish and Muslim practices for producing kosher and halal meats, respectively.

There are small Jewish and Muslim communities in the overwhelmingly Catholic nation of 38 million.  It is estimated that about 6,000 Jews and several tens of thousands of Muslims live in Poland.

However, Poland is also a leading producer in kosher and halal meats, exporting to other European countries, Arab countries, Turkey and Israel.  With two dozen slaughterhouses specifically specializing in kosher and halal meats, the export industry is valued at an estimated $259 million.

The same day that the court’s ruling is set to take effect, January 1, an EU directive (The European Convention for the Protection of Animals for Slaughter) also will become effect.  The EU directive will set common rules for ritual slaughter across the EU, but will also allow individual counties to decide whether or not to apply these rules.  Specifically, the new directive allows “derogation from stunning in case[s] of religious slaughter taking place in slaughterhouses,” but leaves “a certain level of subsidiarity to each Member State.”

Currently, Sweden has a complete ban on ritual slaughter.  Last year the lower house of parliament in the Netherlands voted to enact a similar ban before backing down in the face of controversy.  Non-EU countries Switzerland, Norway, and Iceland also have a ban.

Last year, during the Dutch debate on religious slaughter, Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski defended it as an ancient practice said there was “a crisis of tolerance” in Europe.

Poland’s Agriculture Minister Stanislaw Kalemba has promised “[t]here will be no doubt about this as of January 1.”  His ministry believes the EU law takes precedence and will act to remove any doubts about ritual slaughter’s legality in Poland.  His ministry has already licensed 17 slaughterhouses to practice Jewish or Muslim religious slaughter.

However, animal rights groups have said Poland may still opt-out of the EU laws. “It’s up to us to decide whether we want a law authorizing this kind of slaughter or not,” said Dariusz Gzyra of the campaign group Empatia.

Additionally, Piotr Kadlcik, president of Poland’s Union of Jewish Communities, has said he believes the ruling contradicts a 1997 law on relations between his Union and the Polish state.  “It appears there is a legal contradiction here and it is too early to tell what this means,” he said. “We are seeking legal advice on this right now.”

For further information, please see:

BBC News – Polish Ritual Slaughter Illegal, Court Rules – 28 November 2012

Polskie Radio – Ritual Slaughter of Farm Animals ‘Unconstitutional’ in Poland, Court Rules – 28 November 2012

France24 – Polish Court bans Ritual Slaughter, EU Gives Go-Ahead – 27 November 2012

Jerusalem Post – Polish Court Rules Against Ritual Slaughter – 28 November 2012