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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| New war crimes trial for Kosovo ex-premier Haradinaj | New war crimes trial for Kosovo ex-premier Haradinaj |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Former Kosovan Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj is back on trial at The Hague in its first-ever partial retrial for war crimes. | |
| He is re-appearing before the UN War Crimes Tribunal after his 2008 acquittal was overturned on grounds of witness intimidation. | |
| The ex-Kosovo Liberation Army fighter is being tried with two co-accused. | |
| Mr Haradinaj and fellow ethnic Albanian Idriz Balaj were acquitted on 37 counts of war crimes in the earlier trial. | |
| The second co-defendant, Lahi Brahimaj, was convicted in 2008 of torture and sentenced to six years, but is now being retried on four additional counts. | |
| Prosecutor Paul Rogers told judges that during the Kosovan war, victims were murdered and tortured, regardless of their ethnicity. | |
| "While they were fighting a war, and thus using legitimate force, they also pursued illegal means to achieve that aim," he told the court. | |
| The indictment against all three defendants alleged they had been involved in a joint criminal enterprise to establish KLA control in western Kosovo through detention camps. | The indictment against all three defendants alleged they had been involved in a joint criminal enterprise to establish KLA control in western Kosovo through detention camps. |
| Witness intimidation | Witness intimidation |
| Ethnic Serbs and Albanians who were deemed to have collaborated with Serbs were allegedly tortured and killed there, with 39 bodies found. | Ethnic Serbs and Albanians who were deemed to have collaborated with Serbs were allegedly tortured and killed there, with 39 bodies found. |
| After the acquittal, the appeals chamber concluded that witnesses had been intimidated and that the prosecution had not been given the chance to question two potentially crucial witnesses. | After the acquittal, the appeals chamber concluded that witnesses had been intimidated and that the prosecution had not been given the chance to question two potentially crucial witnesses. |
| Mr Haradinaj - the most senior ethnic Albanian indicted by the tribunal - is now being retried with his two co-accused on some of the original 37 counts. | Mr Haradinaj - the most senior ethnic Albanian indicted by the tribunal - is now being retried with his two co-accused on some of the original 37 counts. |
| The process will be closely watched, says the BBC's Mark Lowen, in Belgrade. In Kosovo Mr Haradinaj is still revered as a national hero by the ethnic Albanian majority and praised as a defender of their liberation struggle. | |
| But in Serbia he inspires the opposite reaction, our correspondent adds. | |
| His acquittal was seen by many as proof that the tribunal is, in the eyes of many, prejudiced against Serbs. | His acquittal was seen by many as proof that the tribunal is, in the eyes of many, prejudiced against Serbs. |
| They believe a conviction would confirm that crimes were committed on all sides in the Kosovan war. | They believe a conviction would confirm that crimes were committed on all sides in the Kosovan war. |
| A verdict in the retrial, during which all three will plead not guilty, could take several months. | A verdict in the retrial, during which all three will plead not guilty, could take several months. |