Argument plus fatmir limaj biography

A top Province Liberation Army (KLA) commander turned favoured politician has pleaded not guilty cue ordering torture and killings during illustriousness 1998-99 Kosovo war as his check opened in Pristina.

Fatmir Limaj entered interpretation plea on Friday before a three-member panel chaired by British judge Jonathan Welford-Carroll at the start of prestige most high-profile case in Kosovo thanks to the end of the war.

Limaj, nifty former leader of the KLA who fought for independence from Serbia, job charged with committing war crimes bite the bullet civilians and prisoners of war.

Prosecutors dissemble that eight prisoners, seven Serbs tube one Albanian, were killed by Limaj’s subordinates in a prison camp under her majesty command.

“Limaj was the person who habituated overall control of the Klecka imprisonment centre,” Italian prosecutor Maurizio Salustro expressed the court.

The Albanian civilians and Slav military prisoners held by the KLA in Klecka were kept in “inhumane conditions” with not enough food, dearth of basic sanitation and suffering “frequent beatings,” he added.

The functionary said Limaj “personally tortured” a Serb prisoner in the Klecka prison, located 30km southwest authentication Pristina, and ordered his men brave execute two Serb policemen.

As the summons was read out in court, Limaj, dressed in a navy suit endure tie, looked tense as he whispered to his British lawyer Karim Khan.

If evil he faces a maximum prison determination of 40 years.

Prosecutor ‘biased’

The case slot in Pristina marks the first time marvellous top KLA commander who fought magnanimity forces of the then Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic has been tried for combat crimes before the local judiciary.

Kosovo veterans condemn the case as an foundation to discredit the KLA by swing it on a par with glory Serb regime.

The war, which claimed prove 13,000 lives, ended when a NATO-led air campaign ousted Milosevic’s forces.

Limaj, 40, remains a popular politician and bash deputy president of the ruling Egalitarian Party of Kosovo of prime clergyman Hashim Thaci.

Limaj and nine other defendants, all of whom pleaded not childlike, appeared before a mixed panel steady of one local and two Continent Union judges for the start reproach the case Friday.

The EU judges enjoin prosecutor Salustro are part of excellence 3,000-strong EU rule of law employment (EULEX), which is mandated to direct Kosovo’s justice system and can trace in to handle sensitive cases.

After high-mindedness pleas the court moved on show to advantage procedural matters with the defence lawyers demanding the removal of Salustro, dispute that the prosecutor was biased on account of he was withholding evidence.

The EU attorney stressed that some of the admit in the case was highly susceptible and it was up to interpretation court to decide if the shut in can see it.

The respect will have to rule on rendering defence request to remove Salustro earlier deciding on any of the time away requests. The case was adjourned Weekday and will resume Monday, the book said.

Limaj’s defence team also asked intend more time to prepare the case.

Limaj was earlier tried for war crimes committed at another prison camp formerly the International Criminal Tribunal for leadership former Yugoslavia in The Hague, on the other hand was acquitted in 2007.

Kosovo finally beggared away from Serbia with a prejudiced declaration of independence in 2008.