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UN tribunal acquits Kosovo ex-PM of war crimes

Appeals judges said the ICTY’s trial chamber “seriously erred in failing to take adequate measures to secure the testimony of certain witnesses” during the original 10-month trial.

Haradinaj – who quit his job as prime minister after 100 days in office to hand himself over to the tribunal – and Balaj returned to court for the verdict while Brahimaj was still in detention.

Haradinaj, who established the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo party after the conflict, has been on provisional release since May 10 and living at home in Pristina.

He is now likely to continue his political career in Kosovo and is expected to run again for prime minister.

His face adorns huge billboards all over Kosovo that read “the leader who keeps his words” and “forward with a clean slate.”

However, he is still considered a war criminal by Belgrade and an arrest warrant has been issued against him by Serbia’s war crimes prosecutor for his alleged crimes.

Oliver Antic, legal advisor to Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic, had warned that should Haradinaj be acquitted “it will surely jeopardise negotiations.”

“Haradinaj’s acquittal will distance us from reconciliation,” he added.

The conflict in Kosovo ended when NATO forces intervened to stop a crackdown on ethnic Albanians by the troops loyal to Milosevic.

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In one of the most brutal episodes of the Balkans conflicts in the 1990s, more than 10,000 people died in the fighting.

Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but Belgrade fiercely opposes its international recognition.

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