Pasic: Acquittal of KLA leaders on crimes against humanity charges unexpected

Attorney Dragan Pasic said that legal experts had not expected the former KLA leaders to be acquitted on the counts charging them with crimes against humanity, adding that an appeal process would follow and, in his assessment, would last approximately one year.

Pasic told Kosovo Online that the Court had found that those convicted had acted with the common purpose of establishing full control over Kosovo through intimidation, mistreatment and the elimination of those they regarded as opponents.

“By that I mean Serbs, Roma and political opponents among the Albanians,” Pasic said.

He stressed that the KLA leaders had been acquitted of crimes against humanity because the Court found that there had not been a widespread or systematic attack directed against the civilian population as a whole, which, he explained, was a legal requirement for conduct to qualify as a crime against humanity.

“The Court found that the non-international armed conflict lasted from late March 1998 until June 20, 1999. Since the war formally ended with the withdrawal of Serbian forces, any criminal offenses committed after that date cannot legally fall within the definition of war crimes in these proceedings,” Pasic explained.

He pointed out that the Court had rejected claims that the KLA was a guerrilla formation without effective control and found that the four accused, as senior commanders, had planned and carried out a joint criminal enterprise.

Pasic noted that appeal proceedings would now follow.

“This is a first-instance judgment. The next step is the appeal process, which, in my assessment, will last approximately one year. I want to emphasize that the legal community did not expect the accused to be acquitted of all charges of crimes against humanity, meaning that they were not convicted, even in part, under that legal classification. The Court acquitted them,” Pasic said.

He recalled that the indictment contained ten counts, six of which concerned crimes against humanity, on which they were acquitted, while they were found guilty on four counts of war crimes.

Hashim Thaci and Jakup Krasniqi were sentenced at first instance today to 25 years’ imprisonment each for war crimes. Kadri Veseli was sentenced to 18 years, while Rexhep Selimi received a 13-year prison sentence.

The Trial Panel found Hashim Thaci, Jakup Krasniqi, Rexhep Selimi and Kadri Veseli guilty of war crimes committed against civilians and persons who were not actively participating in hostilities. According to the Panel’s judgment, they were found guilty of the war crime of arbitrary detention involving 385 persons, cruel treatment involving 49 persons, torture involving 303 persons, and the war crime of murder involving 96 persons.