Fatmir Limaj
Encyclopedia
Fatmir Limaj is a politician from Kosovo. He is a member of the Democratic Party of Kosovo
(PDK) and is considered to be Hashim Thaçi
's right hand and close political partner. Limaj served as Minister of Transport and Telecommunication in the Government of the Republic of Kosovo.
, Limaj was a commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army
(KLA), in the Lapušnik area. His alias was Çeliku. After the war he was one of the founders of what is now Kosovo's largest political party, the Democratic Party of Kosovo. After his indictment, which he was freed from in 2007 (see below), he has returned to politics.
. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY
) charged him, Isak Musliu
and Haradin Bala
with war crimes against Serbs and Albanians regarding illegal imprisonment, cruel treatment, inhuman acts, and murders in Lapušnik prison camp. On March 4, 2003, he was sent to Haag, and on November 15, 2004, the trial began. In November 2005, Limaj was acquitted by the ICTY. On September 2007, "The Appeals Chamber finds that the Trial Chamber reasonably found that Fatmir Limaj does not incur criminal responsibility for any of the offences charged in the indictment," Judge Fausto Pocar said. On press conference help upon Judge Pocar's ruling, Limaj said that this verdict opens new paths for new victories.
Democratic Party of Kosovo
The Democratic Party of Kosovo is the largest political party in Kosovo . It is a social democratic party and the main leftist party in Kosovo....
(PDK) and is considered to be Hashim Thaçi
Hashim Thaci
Hashim Thaçi is the Prime Minister of Republic of Kosovo, the leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo , and former political leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army .-Early life and education:...
's right hand and close political partner. Limaj served as Minister of Transport and Telecommunication in the Government of the Republic of Kosovo.
Biography
During the 1999 Kosovo WarKosovo War
The term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
, Limaj was a commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army
Kosovo Liberation Army
The Kosovo Liberation Army or KLA was a Kosovar Albanian paramilitary organization which sought the separation of Kosovo from Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the 1990s....
(KLA), in the Lapušnik area. His alias was Çeliku. After the war he was one of the founders of what is now Kosovo's largest political party, the Democratic Party of Kosovo. After his indictment, which he was freed from in 2007 (see below), he has returned to politics.
Indictment
Limaj was arrested on February 18, 2003, in SloveniaSlovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
The International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, more commonly referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or ICTY, is a...
) charged him, Isak Musliu
Isak Musliu
Isak Musliu was charged by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia with a series of beatings and murders in a Kosovo Liberation Army prison camp in a family compound in Lapušnik to deal with Serbs and suspected Albanians opposed to the KLA between May and July 1998 during...
and Haradin Bala
Haradin Bala
Haradin Bala is an Albanian-Kosovar commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army , found guilty of crimes against humanity and violations of the customs of war by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia...
with war crimes against Serbs and Albanians regarding illegal imprisonment, cruel treatment, inhuman acts, and murders in Lapušnik prison camp. On March 4, 2003, he was sent to Haag, and on November 15, 2004, the trial began. In November 2005, Limaj was acquitted by the ICTY. On September 2007, "The Appeals Chamber finds that the Trial Chamber reasonably found that Fatmir Limaj does not incur criminal responsibility for any of the offences charged in the indictment," Judge Fausto Pocar said. On press conference help upon Judge Pocar's ruling, Limaj said that this verdict opens new paths for new victories.