Ex-KLA Man in Tribunal Trouble
Brahimaj says he missed provisional release meeting because he was asleep.
Ex-KLA Man in Tribunal Trouble
Brahimaj says he missed provisional release meeting because he was asleep.
Lahi Brahimaj, a former member of the Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA, has written to the Hague tribunal to say he was asleep when European Union monitors came to his house on February 17 for a scheduled meeting.
The letter, dated March 10 but only made public six days later, came shortly after Brahimaj was warned on March 4 to adhere to the terms of his provisional release, which includes weekly visits by EU Rule of Law Mission, EULEX, to his home in Pristina.
“I had just undergone medical treatment and was on antibiotics which caused me to sleep longer than usual in the morning,” Brahimaj wrote of the 10.30 am scheduled visit. “When I woke up, I immediately realised that EULEX had left without meeting me.”
He said that he contacted EULEX officials within 40 minutes of the meeting time to explain what had happened.
“I would like to assure the court that I am taking the conditions of my provisional release seriously and did not in any way intend to disrespect the court,” Brahimaj wrote.
He concluded by stating that since the February incident, he has attended all his scheduled EULEX meetings and complied with the other conditions of his release, and will continue to do so.
Brahimaj stood trial in 2007 with KLA commander Ramush Haradinaj and member Idriz Balaj for crimes – including murder, rape and cruel treatment - committed against civilians during the Kosovo conflict of the late 1990s. Both Haradinaj and Balaj were found not guilty of the charges against them.
Brahimaj, however, was found guilty of torture and cruel treatment. He is appealing against the conviction, which resulted in a six-year prison sentence with credit for time served. He was granted provisional release on May 25, 2009.
Rachel Irwin is an IWPR reporter in The Hague.
