Former Kosovo premier denied temporary release

Thu, 16 Dec 2010

The Hague - Ramush Haradinaj, a former leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) who briefly served as prime minister of Kosovo, was Thursday denied provisional release by appeal judges at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

Haradinaj is detained in The Hague, where he faces a retrial on charges of war crimes stemming from his role in the Kosovo War of 1999.

Judges had earlier this month granted Haradinaj provisional release, reportedly so that he could be with his wife when she gives birth to their child in January.

But the ICTY's appeals chamber on Wednesday quashed that decision after granting the prosecutor's appeal, with presiding judge Patrick Robinson arguing that Haradinaj could have taken advantage of his release to intimidate witnesses.

Haradinaj's Alliance for Future of Kosovo won nearly 11 per cent of the the vote in Sunday's snap parliamentary election.

He served as Kosovo prime minister for 100 days, stepping down after the ICTY issued an indictment against him in March 2005.

He traveled to The Hague voluntarily and was later acquitted, but now faces a retrial because of allegations that the original trial had been marred by witness intimidation.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/358576,premier-denied-temporary-release.html.