Kosovo's former PM denies war crimes allegations

Kosovo’s former prime minister, who resigned last week and surrendered to a UN tribunal, today pleaded not guilty to war crimes charges at the UN tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

Kosovo’s former prime minister, who resigned last week and surrendered to a UN court, today pleaded not guilty to war crimes charges at the UN tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

Ramush Haradinaj, 36, stood when asked to respond to the first of 37 charges being brought by UN prosecutors for his alleged role in abuses against Serb, Albanian and Gypsy civilians during the 1998-1999 war against Serbia.

British human rights lawyer Ben Emmerson QC will lead the defence of Haradinaj. He will be supported by Conor Gearty, a professor of human rights law at the London School of Economics.

Emmerson is a member of Matrix Chambers in London, which also includes Tony Blair’s wife Cherie.

Last week he acted for several of the foreign terrorist suspects detained without trial in the UK when they were finally granted bail.

Two other ethnic Kosovo Albanian suspects named in the indictment, Lahi Brahimaj and Idriz Balaj, also surrendered to UN authorities on Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to allegations detailed at their first court appearance.

The men, flanked by blue-clad UN guards and dressed in dark suits and ties, denied dozens of allegations resulting from their activities as former commanders in the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), which waged a war of independence against Serbian forces.

A former commander of the backed Kosovo Liberation Army, Haradinaj was accused of superior responsibility for the rape, murder and torture of Serb and Gypsy civilians by Albanian separatists under his control in the western region of the southern Serb province.

He also was accused of personal participation in beatings and torture, including the beatings of Albanian civilians who were believed to have collaborated with Serbs.

Haradinaj is the highest-ranking Kosovo Albanian to be indicted by the tribunal and his case is one of the most high-profile since the trial of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.