Ramush Haradinaj speaks to press - Kosovo

Ramush Haradinaj is a former leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and former prime minister of Kosovo during 2008.

He leads the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) and is among former KLA officers charged of war crimes during the 1999 Kosovo War by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) at The Hague but was acquitted of all charges on 3 April 2008. However, on 21 July 2010, the Appeals Chamber ordered a partial retrial.

In February 2009 he was asked by the Ugandan Rebel Group "Allied Democratic Forces" to mediate peace talks with the central government in Kampala.

Haradinaj served only 100 days as Prime Minister before being indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), at The Hague. The indictment alleges that Haradinaj, as a commander within the KLA, committed crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war between March and September 1998, the alleged purpose of which was to exert control over territory, targeting both Serb, Albanian and Romani civilians. He was acquitted on 3 April 2008, because of lack of convincing evidence.

Haradinaj indicated in a statement at the time that he was willing to submit himself to the court and be scrutinised for his actions during or after the war, confident all actions were both legal and justified.

Haradinaj's trial at The Hague began on 5 March 2007 and his defence team was led by Ben Emmerson QC, a leading international human rights lawyer. Emmerson had supporting counsel in Rodney Dixon, also of Matrix chambers of London. The legal defence team as a whole was coordinated by Irish political consultant and financier Michael O'Reilly.

(Vedat Xhymshiti - Photo Library of September 4th 2009)