Trial of former Albanian rebel leader opens in Kosovo Deutsche Presse

Trial of former Albanian rebel leader opens in Kosovo
Deutsche Presse-Agentur - February 10, 2004, Tuesday

Pristina - A former ethnic Albanian guerrilla leader went on trial Tuesday before a United Nations court in Kosovo on charges of "criminal activity" that threatened regional stability. Shefqet Musliu, appearing before a court in Gnjilane, eastern Kosovo, along with four other defendants, was charged with kidnapping, racketeering, illegal possession of weapons and criminal conspiracy. Musliu was a commander of a disbanded ethnic Albanian rebel group which fought the security forces across the Kosovo boundary, in southern Serbia. The United States blacklisted Musliu, along with 22 other ethnic Albanians considered a threat to the fragile stability in the region. He was arrested in April last year by NATO-led peacekeepers.

February 10, 2004 - 12:44:36 Central European Time