Project Covers Haradinaj Acquittal
Project Covers Haradinaj Acquittal
On April 3, tribunal judges acquitted Kosovo’s ex-prime minister Ramush Haradinaj and his co-accused Idriz Balaj of all charges, in a decision which sent shockwaves throughout the region.
Merdijana Sadovic
IWPR Balkans Project Manager
They had been indicted for war crimes in Kosovo in 1998.
Meanwhile, the third accused, Lahi Brahimaj, was found guilty of cruel treatment and torture and sentenced to six years in prison.
The verdict provoked fury in Serbia – a reaction reported on by the tribunal project in the April 4 article Serbian Anger at Haradinaj Acquittal, by Merdijana Sadovic in Sarajevo and Roknic in Belgrade.
The story also considered allegations that Kosovo Liberation Army leaders were set free because witnesses were too afraid to testify against them.
In another piece, Has Haradinaj Acquittal Boosted Serbian Radicals?, published on April 11, Roknic considered the possible effects of the verdict on Belgrade’s cooperation with the tribunal and the overall political situation in Serbia.
