NETHERLANDS: UN Appeals Chamber uphold war crime verdicts

The UN Appeals Chamber has found that the conviction and sentencing of former prison guard Haradin Bala is upheld, along with the acquittal of two Kosovo Albanians on trial for torture and murder in 2005. The Appeals Chamber of the U.N. war crimes tribunal upheld the conviction of war-time prison guard Haradin Bala, and cleared two Kosovo Albanians of war crimes for the second time on Thursday (September 27). The Appeal Chamber maintained Fatmir Limaj and Isak Musliu's 2005 acquittal on charges of torture, murder and cruel treatment. Appeals judges agreed with an earlier ruling that Limaj, a senior Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) member, was not guilty of murder, torture and inhumane acts during the 1998-99 conflict in the southern Serbian province. They also upheld the acquittal of Musliu, another member of the now disbanded KLA, on the same crimes. Judge Fausto Pocar said the Appeals Chamber agreed that the Trial Chamber reasonably found that Fatmir Limaj did not incur criminal responsibility for any of the offences charged in the indictment. In the original trial, they were cleared of all charges of abducting and murdering Serb civilians as well as ethnic Albanians suspected of collaborating with Serb authorities while Kosovo was in the grip of a separatist insurgency. Prosecutors appealed the verdict citing errors in the procedure. The court also upheld the conviction and sentence of a third man, Haradin Bala, a former prison camp guard, found guilty of murder, torture and cruelty and sentenced to 13 years. "The prosecution's appeal in its entirety, affirms the sentence imposed by the Trial Chamber against Haradin Bala," Pocar said. Bala had asked for his conviction to be reviewed as part of the Limaj-Musliu appeal case. Appeals judges maintained the earlier ruling that Limaj had no direct role in the cruel treatment of prisoners in a wartime camp. Serb officials said at the time that the acquittal was a "judicial disgrace" and accused the court of anti-Serb bias. But Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority, who see KLA soldiers as freedom fighters against Serb oppression, celebrated it as a victory for justice.

ITN Source | September 28, 2007

Tags:. .army. .victory. .soldiers. .southern. .agreed