The Hague war crimes tribunal in Kosovo in 1998-99 opened today the first hearing in the case of former Kosovo Liberation Army commander Salih Mustafa on charges of war crimes, including murder and torture, according to the Associated Press.
Salih Mustafa was arrested in Kosovo a year ago and transferred to the Netherlands to appear before an EU-backed special war crimes tribunal in Kosovo, which is part of the Kosovo legal system set up specifically to deal with war crimes committed by members of the Kosovo Liberation Army. in 1998-99.
Salih Mustafa was arrested a year ago in Kosovo and transferred to the Netherlands to appear before the EU-backed Special Court for War Crimes in Kosovo, which is part of the Kosovo legal system designed specifically to deal with war crimes committed by members of the Kosovo Liberation Army. (VAK) in 1998-99.
Salih Mustafa, former Kosovo Liberation Army #KLA leader trial to start at The Hague-based court’s Tribunal on September 15, 2021. #KosovoTribunal #Kosovo
Photo: Salih Mustafa in court. Photo credit: Kosovo Specialist Chambers. @Jntoyai https://t.co/4VnWR3j2tL pic.twitter.com/xSC2zz0MaI— JFJustice (@JFJustice) September 13, 2021
Mustafa is accused of arbitrarily detaining, abusing and torturing at least six people, as well as killing one person in Zlasha in April 1999.
The victims were accused by the Higher Attestation Commission of collaborating with Serbia or not supporting the Higher Attestation Commission, according to the indictment against Mustafa.
At the previous hearing, Mustafa pleaded not guilty.
This is the first trial in this court, which was set up six years ago after the publication in 2011 of a Council of Europe report alleging that HAC fighters trafficked human organs and killed Serbs and other ethnic Albanians who they believed cooperated with the Serbian authorities.
The Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague began its first war crimes trial in the case against former KLA unit commander Salih Mustafa, who is accused of illegally detaining and torturing prisoners in 1999.https://t.co/PJUocO92AW
— Balkan TJ (BIRN) (@BIRN_BTJ) September 15, 2021
Other defendants awaiting trial include former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci, who resigned last year to defend himself against the charges.