(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-04-04 16:17

BELGRADE - Serbia slammed Thursday the acquittal of former Kosovo Prime Minister and former Commander of Kosovo Liberation Army Ramush Haradinaj by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague.

Former Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj awaits his verdict at the courtroom of the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal in The Hague April 3, 2008. [Agencies]

"It is clear that in question is a court which has been set up to officially declare innocent those who committed crimes, like Haradinaj," Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said in a statement.

The Hague tribunal on Thursday acquitted the 38-year-old Haradinaj of war crimes and crimes against humanity, ordering his release from detention, although the prosecution had requested a 25-year prison sentence.

Haradinaj and two other former guerrilla commanders, Idriz Balaj and Lahi Brahimaj, were charged with participating 10 years ago in a joint criminal enterprise, including murder, persecution, rape and torture against Serbs and other civilians during the Kosovo rebellion against Belgrade in 1998.

At the time of indictment in March 2005, Haradinaj was serving as Kosovo's prime minister with only three months in the office.

The UN court acquitted Balaj as well, while sentencing Haradinaj's uncle, Brahimaj, to six-year imprisonment after finding him guilty of brutality and torture.

Kostunica said the decision of The Hague tribunal represents a mockery of justice and a mockery of the innocent victims who suffered at the hands of Haradinaj.

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic said Haradinaj's acquittal was a black day for international justice and recalled the evidence presented by former ICTY chief prosecutor Carla del Ponte.

The acquittal is scandalous and follows tremendous pressures and murder of witnesses. It has dealt a serious blow to the entire system of international justice and to the future and reconciliation among nations in the Balkans, and the responsibility lies with ICTY, Djelic said.

Slobodan Samardzic, Serbian minister for Kosovo affairs, told a press conference that the ICTY verdict would have political, moral and legal consequences for justice and possibly also for peace and stability in Kosovo.

Haradinaj's acquittal shows that there is no international justice for crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia, he said, noting that Haradinaj's indictment had been well drafted with strong evidence and numerous witnesses.

The verdict has allowed a war criminal to continue engaging in politics in Kosovo and will affect the state endeavors for preserving Kosovo as part of Serbia, Samardzic said, adding that ICTY verdict has poured oil onto fire in the Kosovo issue.

Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic said the verdict shows that it is high time that this tribunal closes down.

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