Ramush Haradinaj, newly elected Kosovo Prime Minister ordered and personally committed killings, tortures and rapes of non-Albanian civilians in the territory of Djakovica during withdrawal of Serbian Army and Police from Kosovo and Metohija in 1999. Because of all these crimes, the War Crimes Council of the District Court in Belgrade ordered on August 20, 2004 investigation against Haradinaj and another six members of Kosovo Liberation Army /KLA/ for war crimes against civil population.
According to documents that 'Blic' got, former commander of KLA HQ for Metohija founded a prison in the cellars of Pastrik Hotel. There, non-Albanian civilians were tortured, raped and then taken to the bank of Ernik River and shot dead. That happened at the place called ' Gropa Coftinave'.
On June 12, 1999 at Haradinaj's order, Arben Skrupi, Anton Lekaj, Besim Bestrazimi, Saban Azemi and Hode Hekuran seized Gypsies that attended a wedding ceremony and took them to Pastrik. They objected the Gypsies for having addressed them in Serbian Language. A day later, Serb Rade Gagovic was also taken into prison.
Haradinaj who personally questioned the captives, also gave orders for their torture. On June 12 in a hotel room of Pastrik and underage girl G.T. was brutally beaten and raped by Haradinaj. After that, over two days, other KLA members were constantly raping the girl. Sofija Tafa was also permanently beaten and raped. At night between June 13 and 14 Arben Krupi and Anton Lekaj raped and beaten a man called Bedri Salja. The same night Skupi cut off the ear of Rade Gagovic and then put it in the mouth of Redi Salja forcing him to eat the ear up. There were many other cases of torture.
On June 15 Arben Skupi told Badri Salja, Redja Salja, Bajram Krasnici, Zvezdan Ljusaj and Rade Gagovic that at the order of Ramush Haradinaj they would be shot.
Lekaj, Bestrezimi, Azemi and Uksinaj took the victims by a car to a place called 'Gropa Coftinave' and there shot them dead. Only one, Bedri Salja, managed to escape.
On October 1, 2004 War Crimes Council of the District Court in Belgrade ruled one-month detention for that crime. Since, according to police report, they are not in the territory of Serbia and Montenegro, the Council issued a wanted list for these individuals the same day.
Copyright 2004 Blic
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