Protesters in Kosovo demand France release former prime minister Haradinaj
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 21 January 2017 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Protesters in Kosovo demand France release former prime minister Haradinaj, 21 January 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5975a48111.html [accessed 8 June 2023] |
| Comments | All reference to Kosovo should be understood in full compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244. |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
January 21, 2017
Thousands of people took to the streets of Pristina calling on France to let Ramush Haradinaj go.
Thousands of people gathered in Pristina on January 21 in a demonstration calling for France to release Kosovo's former prime minister – who was being held there on an arrest warrant issued by Serbia.
Former Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, a Kosovo Albanian wartime guerrilla commander, was arrested in Paris on January 4 under the international warrant.
Belgrade is asking for Haradinaj's extradition for trial on allegations of atrocities committed against civilians in Kosovo during its 1998-1999 war.
Haradinaj has been released on bail by a French court pending a ruling on Belgrade's extradition request but he must remain in France to await the court ruling.
He had been arrested on a Serbian warrant in 2015 in Slovenia for alleged war crimes but was released a day later.
Haradinaj has been acquitted of war crimes twice by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) at The Hague.
He was elected Kosovo's prime minister in 2004 but resigned after 100 days in power to surrender to the United Nations tribunal.
Based on reporting by AP and AFP
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
