UN war crimes court indicts former Kosovo minister for bullying witness in Haradinaj case
The international war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague has charged a former Kosovo Albanian minister for bullying a witness in the case against former Prime minister Ramus Haradinaj.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Monday, April 28, 2008
Haradinaj was acquitted by the tribunal on war crimes charges against Kosovo Serbs and Romas after nine key witnesses against him were killed and many others refused to testify after intimidation.
Former Culture Minister Astrit Araqija was indicted of contempt of court, along with his adviser Bajrush Morina.
Charges against the two were triggered by events in July and August 2007, when the politicians tried in vain to convince an anonymous witness not to appear in court.
Police recorded conversations indicating that Morina even travelled to the witness's country of residence, Norway, at the Ministry of Culture's expense.
On July 10 and 11, 2007, Morina met with the protected witness - whom he knew from before - and warned him not to testify against Haradinaj, according to the indictment.
Haradinaj, 39, was being sought for the murder, torture and rape of Serbs and opponents in an alleged campaign of ethnic cleansing during the Kosovo war of 1998-1999, when he headed the Kosovo Liberation Army.
The prosecutor had called for Haradinaj to serve a 25-year prison term.
