Kosovo: Belgrade challenges UN tribunal on allegedly killed witnesses

Belgrade, 1 Sept. (AKI) - Serbian authorities have strongly challenged claims by the United Nations War Crimes Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia that no witnesses in the trial of former Kosovo prime minister Ramus Haradinaj had been killed.

Serbian prosecutor for war crimes Vladimir Vukcevic said recently that 40 potential witnesses of crimes allegedly committed by the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), including 14 relating to Haradinaj case, had been killed.

Tribunal’s spokeswoman Nerma Jelacic on Wednesday strongly denied the charges, saying that no persons from the tribunal’s list of potential witnesses had been killed. She said the tribunal was proud of its system of protection of witnesses.

But Serbian newspapers on Thursday published a list, compiled by Vukcevic’s office, of scores of potential witnesses, all ethnic Albanians, who had been killed in the period between 2001 and 2007.

Among those relating to Haradinaj’s case, it named Ilir Selimaj, Smail Hajdaraj, Bekim Mustafa, Avni Elezaj, Tahir Zemaj, Sabahete Tolaj, Isuf Haklaj, Sadik Musaj, Ismet Musaj, Sinan Musaj, Dzeladin Musaj, Sadik Murici, Vesel Murici and Kujtim Berisa.

The document described in detail when and how the witness had been killed, pointing out that Sadik and Vesel Murici were the tribunal’s protected witnesses. The issue dominated pages of Serbian newspapers on Thursday and Belgrade daily Kurir described Jelacic’s claims as “impudent”.

Haradinaj, a former regional commander of the KLA, which started a rebellion against Serbian rule, and his two alleged accomplices, have been accused of crimes against Serb, Roma and non-loyal Albanian civilians during Kosovo 1998/99 conflict.

He briefly served as Kosovo prime minister after the region was put under UN control in 1999. Kosovo majority Albanians declared independence from Serbia in 2008, which Belgrade contests.

Haradinaj was acquitted for “lack of evidence” in April 2008, but the tribunal’s appeals panel in 2010 ordered a retrial on six counts, saying the first trial was conducted in an atmosphere of “intimidation of witnesses”.

Sefcet Kabashi, considered a key witness in Haradinaj trial, refused to answer most questions by the tribunal last week, pointing to the fact that many witnesses had been killed. He is currently awaiting sentencing for contempt of court.