HUMANITARIAN LAW CENTER

Heavy Sentences for Eight Ethnic Albanians

14 February 2000

The trial of 13 Kosovo Albanians charged with terrorism and seditious conspiracy ended on Thursday, 10 February, at the District Court in Leskovac. The group was arrested by the Yugoslav Army at Plav, Montenegro, in April 1999. The Kosovo Albanians were originally accused of killing 16 police officers in Locani and Prilep villages. However, the prosecutor amended the indictment when police officers who gave testimony said no police had been killed in these attacks. The indictment was based in entirety on the self-incriminating statements made by the accused to military investigators immediately after their arrest. The defendants told the Court these statements had been extracted from them under torture. The panel, presided by Judge Milomir Lazic, sentenced Imer, Sefer, Zeneland Besim Nitaj, Hasan, Rustem, Ramo and Dukaj Avni, all of Drenovac, Decani Township, to 15 years in prison. Valdet Lekaj of Djakovica received a prison term of two years, while Ahmet Sulja, Kujtim Lekaj, Hasim Dukaj and Fidan Dervishaj, all minors, were acquitted and discharged.