Kosovo calls on France to release ex-prime minister
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 6 January 2017 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Kosovo calls on France to release ex-prime minister, 6 January 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5975a3fca.html [accessed 22 May 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. |
Last Updated: January 06, 2017
Kosovo has called on French authorities to release former Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj who was arrested on a Serbian war crimes warrant on January 4.
A French court on January 5 ordered Haradinaj, a former guerrilla commander during Kosovo's 1998-99 war, to remain in custody pending an extradition request from Belgrade.
Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa said on January 6 that the French government should "take into consideration that such warrants are fully political and have no legal or juridical base."
Justice Minister Dhurata Hoxha told RFE/RL's Balkan Service that she sent a letter to her French counterpart on January 6 demanding Haradinaj's release.
Serbia accuses Haradinaj, who served briefly as prime minister of Kosovo in 2004 and 2005, of committing war crimes during the conflict in the former Serbian province that declared independence in 2008.
His arrest upon arrival at an airport in eastern France on a flight from Pristina has triggered outrage in Kosovo, where the government called the Serbian charges "illegal, unfair, and tendentious."
With reporting by AP
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
