Kosovo's Ex-Premier Acquitted of War Crimes Against Serbs

PARIS, April 3 -- A U.N. war crimes court Thursday acquitted Kosovo's former prime minister of systematically killing Serb civilians and driving them out of Kosovo during 1998 battles for independence from Serbia. The verdict is likely to heighten tensions between the two Balkan neighbors.

Ramush Haradinaj, 39, a former commander in the Kosovo Liberation Army, was the highest-ranking ethnic Albanian to be indicted by the United Nations' International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

"This is a verdict that strengthens Kosovo," Haradinaj said in a statement at the conclusion of his year-long trial. "We endured a difficult liberation struggle that cost many lives. Today we are a free and sovereign nation." He was set to return Friday to Kosovo, where he is widely regarded as a hero.

The court's ruling came during a dramatic escalation in tensions in that part of the Balkan region. Kosovo, a former province of Serbia, declared independence six weeks ago, and Serbia's government subsequently collapsed over disputes about how to respond to the declaration, which Serbs almost universally condemn.

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said Thursday that "today's dark decision by the Hague tribunal shows that the purpose of that court is not justice. With this ruling, the tribunal mocks justice and the innocent victims who suffered at Haradinaj's hands." Serbia contends that the court is biased against Serb defendants.

But in Kosovo's capital, Pristina, where the graffiti message "Me Ramushin," or "with Ramush," is common, news of the acquittal brought a cacophony of car horns, fireworks and gunfire.

"It was a big mistake to indict him," Ardian Gjini, a former adviser to Haradinaj who served under him during the war, said in an interview last year. "He is a war hero, not a war criminal, and the greatest living commander in Kosovo. He was also the best prime minister we've seen and made people here believe things could work."

The three-judge panel at the war crimes tribunal ruled that although Haradinaj's Kosovo Liberation Army committed wartime atrocities, the prosecution failed to prove that he was part of a "joint criminal enterprise" directing atrocities or that the killings were broad enough to constitute crimes against humanity. "Murders and attacks were not on a scale or of a frequency to conclude that there was an attack on the civilian population," Judge Alphons Orie told the court.

While the judges described the prosecutor's evidence as "vague, inconclusive or nonexistent," they also said the prosecution was forced to rely on weak evidence because some of its strongest witnesses were too scared to testify. "The chamber gained the strong impression that the trial was being held in an atmosphere where witnesses felt unsafe," Orie said.

Two other men were tried with Haradinaj. Lahi Brahimaj, who served as one of his commanders in the guerrilla war, was convicted on two counts of torture and cruelty. He was sentenced to six years in prison.

Another former rebel commander, Idriz Balaj, was cleared of all charges but was ordered to return to Kosovo to finish a 15-year prison sentence handed down in 2002 involving other war-related incidents.

Haradinaj and former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic, who died in his cell in March 2006 before his trial ended, were the only two serving heads of government to be indicted by the Hague tribunal.

Haradinaj, who once worked as a nightclub bouncer, went into politics in Kosovo after hostilities ended in 1999. Fluent in French and English, he won strong support from Washington and the United Nations when he became prime minister of the province in December 2004. But he stepped down 100 days later, after learning he was to be indicted on allegations of war crimes.

The acquittal of the former Kosovo Liberation Army leader could impede international prosecutors' efforts to persuade Serbia to facilitate the handover of two key Serb officials who remain free. Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and his military commander, Ratko Mladic, have been indicted for alleged genocide against Bosnian Muslims.

Tribunal prosecutors have accused Serbia of protecting the men and have pushed the European Union to link their capture to discussions about whether Serbia should be allowed E.U. membership.

Correspondent Jonathan Finer contributed to this report.