Kosovo: Key prosecution witness ends testimony without accusing Haradinaj

last update: August 24, 16:42

 

The Hague, 24 August (AKI) - A key prosecution witness in the trial of former Kosovo prime minister Ramus Haradinaj on Wednesday ended a three-day testimony before the United Nations war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia without giving any evidence for war crimes attributed to Haradinaj.

 

In fact, Sefcet Kabashi, 35, refused to answer most questions by prosecutors and the judges, saying he didn't remember the details and couldn't talk.

Haradinaj, 43, was a regional commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), which started a rebellion against Serbian rule in 1998 and was briefly prime minister after Kosovo was put under UN control in 1999.

He and his two alleged accomplices, Lah Brahimaj and Idriz Balaj, have been accused by the tribunal on 37 counts for crimes against Serb, Roma and Albanian civilians whom they considered disloyal to the KLA cause.

According to the indictment, they were responsible for torture, beatings and killing of scores of civilians in Jablanica detention camp in 1998 where he served as guard.

But Kabashi told the tribunal on Monday there was no detention camp in Jablanica. "I can swear to that," he said. "I saw no prisoners, people could get in and out, I don't know that anything illegal happened there," he added.

Warned by prosecutor Paul Rogers that his testimony differed from his statements given to the tribunal investigators, Kabashi said there were many untruths in his written statement.

"Your investigators are worse than Serbian," Kabashi said. "Serb investigators beat you up, while yours suck blood on a straw," he added.

Several prosecution witnesses had been killed or died mysterious deaths during the first trial and Haradinaj and Balaj were acquitted for "lack of evidence" in April 2008, while Brahimaj was sentenced to six years in jail.

The tribunal's appeals panel in 2010 ordered a retrial on six counts and Haradinaj was arrested and transferred back to the Hague. The appeals panel said the first trial was conducted in an atmosphere of "intimidation of witnesses" and some key witnesses refused to testify fearing reprisals.

Kabashi, who had earlier refused to testify, was arrested in Netherlands last week and has been held in the Hague detention cell.

"Where are other witnesses who had been questioned by the prosecutors," he asked. "I'm lucky I'm still alive, but I know very well that there were witnesses who are not alive anymore," Kabashi said.

Asked by Rodgers whether he feared for his life, Kabashi said he personally wasn't afraid. "But I don't know whether to fear for some other person close to me," he added.

Unable to get anything more out of Kabashi, prosecutor Rogers gave up further questioning. The next prosecution witness will be a former Serbian policeman.

 

http://www.adnkronos.com/IGN/Aki/English/Security/Kosovo-Key-prosecution-witness-ends-testimony-without-accusing-Haradinaj_312382154367.html