HAGUE COURT AUTHORIZES HARADINAJ POLITICAL ACTIVITIES DURING PROVISIONAL RELEASE
US Fed News - October 13, 2005 Thursday 5:56 AM EST

The Voice of America issued the following story:

WASHINGTON - The United Nations war crimes tribunal has authorized former Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj to engage in political activities during his provisional release.

Judges at the tribunal in The Hague, in a split decision Wednesday, allowed Mr. Haradinaj to join in such activities if U.N. administrators in Kosovo approve his participation on a case-by-case basis.

Mr. Haradinaj, a former Kosovo Albanian guerrilla leader, resigned his post and surrendered to The Hague tribunal in March after the court indicted him on 37 counts of war crimes during the Kosovo conflict of the late 1990s. Mr. Haradinaj has insisted his actions were consistent with international law.

Serbian politicians have condemned Wednesday's decision. They demanded that Serb defendants on provisional release be granted similar privileges.

The Reuters news agency says the tribunal's chief prosecutor plans to appeal the ruling.

Copyright 2005 HT Media Ltd.
Posted for Fair Use only.