HARADINAJ TO BE EXTRADITED TO HAGUE? French will send him before new Special court

The leader of the opposition Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, Ramus Haradinaj, who was arrested in France on a Serbia's warrant, could be extradited to the newly established Special Court for crimes against the so-called KLA, said the head of the Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor Milan Petrovic. He said to Radio Deutsche Welle that such a possibility exists and that it is increasingly mentioned in public.

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The documentation is forwarded, everyone said what they had, and Serbian and Kosovo institutions in the case of Ramus Haradinaj remain to - wait, because the final decision on the fate of former KLA commander will be brought by French court.  

Little is known about the details of the amended investigation: Belgrade claims that Haradinaj is responsible for 13 victims, among which there were children, according to the statements of 30 witnesses. They key is that Serbian organs insist on crimes committed in 1999 that were not considered in Hague, where Haradinaj was released of charges for the crimes from 1998.

Foto: Tanjug/AP

In the interview for DW, Petrovic said that Serbia expects from French judicial authorities to extradite Ramus Haradinaj to Serbia.   

- We have expectations because it is a about purely legal case without any political connotation, regarding the events stated in in our request, actually the requests for extradition - said Petrovic.

He did not give the details of the request for extradition because "the witnesses were declared especially sensitive, and they are in position that the secrecy of the investigation could be jeopardized, and the safety of the witnesses themselves could be at stake".

According to him, solid evidence has been gathered even though "the prosecutor and the investigating authorities have problem to come to the scene of the crime, as it comes to Kosovo and Metohija, where there is limited access to Serbian judicial authorities." 

Petrovic added that Belgrade will not give up the prosecution of Haradinaj "until he goes before a competent court and he is held accountable for a crimes that we charge him."

Foto: Wikimedia/ICTY staff

However, he does not exclude the possibility that Haradinaj will be handed over to the new court in The Hague, adding that the Serbian War Crimes Prosecution has good cooperation with the local special prosecutor David Schwendiman.

- In that case we would continue the cooperation with the Tribunal, and we would help it to put Ramus Haradinaj on trial for the criminal acts we charge him. And if he is extradited to Serbia, we will put him on court - he said and added that he will be able to form his defense completely, and that he won't be charged for anything more Serbia is already charging him.

- In any case, he will have a fair trial - concluded Petrovic.

(Telegraf.co.uk / Tanjug)