World, Europe

French court rejects extradition of ex-Kosovo premier

Ramush Haradinaj wanted in Serbia to face war crimes charges

27.04.2017 - Update : 27.04.2017
French court rejects extradition of ex-Kosovo premier FILE PHOTO - Former Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj

By Hajer M’tiri

PARIS

Former Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj will not be extradited to Serbia, a French court ruled Thursday.

The 48-year-old, who currently leads the opposition Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, is accused of committing war crimes in June 1999 when he was Kosovo Liberation Army commander.

The Court of Appeal in Colmar, northeast France, “gave an unfavorable opinion” on Serbia’s extradition request and lifted Haradinaj’s bail conditions, spokeswoman Sandra Di told Anadolu Agency.

The public prosecutor's office has five days to lodge an appeal, she added.

Commenting on social media after French court's decision, Kosovo President Hashim Thaci said the release of Haradinaj was "good news for all of Kosovo".

A written statement from the Kosovo government noted that Serbia's decision to arrest Haradinaj was "unlawful", confirming that the verdict was in fact in favor of Haradinaj.

Meanwhile, Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said the decision was "shameful, scandalous, illegal and above all political".

"For us, this will never be acceptable. It is good that they showed us what they think about our victims and the people," said Vucic. "Their decisions are based on politics and nothing to do with justice and the law."

Haradinaj was arrested at Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg Airport in eastern France on Jan. 4 and later freed on bail pending court proceedings.

He was Kosovo’s premier from December 2004 to March 2005, when he stood down to face war crimes charges at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. He was twice acquitted.

Anadolu Agency website contains only a portion of the news stories offered to subscribers in the AA News Broadcasting System (HAS), and in summarized form. Please contact us for subscription options.