http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/12/17/europe/EU-War-Crimes-Kosovo.php
Associated Press December 17, 2008 Ex-Kosovo minister guilty of witness intimidation THE HAGUE, Netherlands - The Yugoslav war crimes tribunal sentenced a former Kosovo minister to five months in prison Wednesday for intimidating a witness in the case against his country's former prime minister. Former Culture Minister Astrit Haraqija and his aide, Bajrush Morina, were convicted of contempt of court for threatening a man identified only as Witness Two. Morina was sentenced to three months in prison. Kosovo's former Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj was acquitted in April of murder, rape and torture during Kosovo's 1999 battle for independence from Serbia. Prosecutors have appealed, arguing their case was derailed by widespread witness intimidation. The five-month sentence given Haraqija was the harshest ever handed down by the U.N. tribunal for a contempt of court conviction. Haraqija's attorney Karim Khan called it "draconian" and indicated he would appeal. The maximum sentence for contempt is seven years and a 100,000 euros ($140,000) fine. Presiding judge Alfons Orie said that Haraqija sent Morina to threaten the witness in September 2007 in an unsuccessful effort to stop him from testifying against the prime minister. Morina told the witness that others who had testified against Haraqija were later killed, Orie said, adding that Haraqija had abused his government position to pressure his deputy into an illegal act. Prosecutors called 81 witnesses during Haradinaj's trial, but other witnesses refused to appear, and two have been indicted for contempt of court. The court guaranteed anonymity to 34 witnesses, but still had to subpoena 18 of them. As they acquitted Haradinaj, trial judges wrote they believed "the trial was being held in an atmosphere where witnesses felt unsafe." __________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature database 3698 (20081217) __________ The message was checked by ESET Smart Security. http://www.eset.com Serbian News Network - SNN [email protected] http://www.antic.org/
