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Verdict due on Kosovo ex-fighters Hague court acquits Kosovo ex-PM
(about 2 hours later)
A court in The Hague will shortly deliver its verdict on three former commanders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). The International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague has acquitted a former commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) of war crimes.
The men are accused of war crimes against Serb, Roma and Kosovo Albanian civilians in Kosovo in 1998. Ramush Haradinaj was found not guilty on all counts.
The three deny the charges, but did not present a defence case. He had been accused, along with Idriz Balj and Lahi Brahimaj, of murder, persecution, rape and torture in Kosovo in 1998.
Prosecutors at the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague have called for 25-year prison sentences for each of the defendants. Mr Haradinaj had been a KLA commander fighting Serb forces and later became prime minister in UN-run Kosovo.
The former Kosovo Prime Minister, Ramush Haradinaj, is the most high-profile of the accused. The three men had been accused of driving Serb and Roma civilians from their homes, and targeting Kosovo Albanians who were suspected of collaborating with Serb forces.
Along with Idriz Balj and Lahi Brahimaj, he is charged with murder, persecution, rape and torture.
They are also accused of driving Serb and Roma civilians from their homes, and targeting Kosovo Albanians who were suspected of collaborating with Serb forces.
Defence lawyers did not call witnesses, but told the court in closing arguments that the prosecution had presented a case built on sand.Defence lawyers did not call witnesses, but told the court in closing arguments that the prosecution had presented a case built on sand.
The BBC's Geraldine Coughlan in The Hague says this ruling will be a challenging one for the war crimes tribunal, because the judges will have to rule without having heard any witnesses for the defence.