Haradinaj appeal: Prosecution wants retrial

The Hague Tribunal Prosecution has appealed the verdict which on April 3 acquitted former KLA leader Ramush Haradinaj of all charges.

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Friday, 02.05.2008.

13:06

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The Hague Tribunal Prosecution has appealed the verdict which on April 3 acquitted former KLA leader Ramush Haradinaj of all charges. The Prosecution also appealed the verdicts handed down to Idriz Balaj, also set free, and Lahi Brahimaj, sentenced to six years in prison, and sought a retrial. Haradinaj appeal: Prosecution wants retrial The three ethnic Albanians from Kosovo were charged with war crimes committed in the province in 1998, when Serbs, Romas and Albanians were kidnapped, tortured, raped and murdered. At the end of the trial, the prosecution sought 25 years behind bars for each of the former so-called Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA, warlords. "Within the next 75 says, a more extensive document will follow, that will speak in detail about all the arguments the Prosecution will use in this appeal," spokeswoman Olga Kavran said today in The Hague. She added that the appeal process has no deadline, but that the decision process "could take months, or over a year". "If you look at the previous cases, sometimes the evidence is presented before an appeals chamber in the courtroom, [but] most often, appeals are decided on in judges' closed sessions," Kavran said. The Hague court said in its ruling that it decided to set Haradinaj free because the Prosecution did not present a sufficient amount of direct evidence for the joint criminal enterprise charge, and that the evidence that was presented did not always allow the judges to determine if specific KLA members committed the crimes, "or if the crimes were committed at all". The judges also cited witness intimidation as one of the factors that influenced the course of the trial and its outcome.

Haradinaj appeal: Prosecution wants retrial

The three ethnic Albanians from Kosovo were charged with war crimes committed in the province in 1998, when Serbs, Romas and Albanians were kidnapped, tortured, raped and murdered.

At the end of the trial, the prosecution sought 25 years behind bars for each of the former so-called Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA, warlords.

"Within the next 75 says, a more extensive document will follow, that will speak in detail about all the arguments the Prosecution will use in this appeal," spokeswoman Olga Kavran said today in The Hague.

She added that the appeal process has no deadline, but that the decision process "could take months, or over a year".

"If you look at the previous cases, sometimes the evidence is presented before an appeals chamber in the courtroom, [but] most often, appeals are decided on in judges' closed sessions," Kavran said.

The Hague court said in its ruling that it decided to set Haradinaj free because the Prosecution did not present a sufficient amount of direct evidence for the joint criminal enterprise charge, and that the evidence that was presented did not always allow the judges to determine if specific KLA members committed the crimes, "or if the crimes were committed at all".

The judges also cited witness intimidation as one of the factors that influenced the course of the trial and its outcome.

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