Charges Against Ex-Kosovo Prime Minister And Associates Unsealed

 

Charges against Ramush Haradinaj and two other former KLA members were unsealed by a judge of the ICTY one day after the former Kosovo Prime Minister and the co-accused, Lahi Brahimaj and Idriz Balaj arrived in the Netherlands and into the custody of the Tribunal. The Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) has leveled 37 counts of crimes against humanity and violations of the laws of war against the three for persecution, beatings, rapes and murders committed by KLA soldiers under Haradinaj's command and, as the indictment alleges, often in the presence or personally by Haradinaj and the other two.

The indictment alleges that KLA forces under the command and control of Ramush Haradinaj, including a special unit known as the 'Black Eagles' led by Idriz Balaj led an offensive to seize control of villages in the Decani region of western Kosovo in an effort to expel the Serb and Roma population. Those Serbs who remained behind were often killed. Lahi Brahimaj, a close relative of Haradinaj, served as Deputy Commander of the Dukagjin zoneand liaison to the KLA General Staff.

The indictment describes a campaign of intimidation and terror directed against not only Serbs, but also against ethnic Albanians and Roma who were viewed as sympathizing or collaborating with the Serbs. In many instances the indictees are accused of abducting their victims, beating and murdering them, and in some cases mutilating them. At least 30 alleged victims were found buried next to the concrete wall of the Radonjic canal.

Lahi Brahimaj is also accused of running a KLA detention facility at Jablanica where he allegedly ordered, (and in some cases participated in) the beating, torture and murder of detainees.

The OTP alleges that all three are criminally responsible for planning, ordering, instigating, committing or otherwise aiding and abetting the crimes alleged both individually and as part of a joint criminal enterprise. As part of a joint criminal enterprise the accused need not have personally, physically carried out the crimes alleged, but need only to have participated in furthering the criminal goal of forcibly removing ethnic Serbs from Kosovo through violence and murder.

A copy of the indictment can be found at: http://www.un.org/icty/indictment/english/har-ii050224e.htm