Kosovo ‘Drenica Group’ Guerrillas Jailed for Wartime Crimes

Selimi (left) and Lushtaku in a police car outside the court.

The Basic Court in Mitrovica on Wednesday convicted Sami Lushtaku, the mayor of the Kosovo town of Skenderaj/Srbica, of murder, and Sylejman Selimi, Pristina’s former ambassador to Albania and ex-head of the Kosovo Security Force, of torturing a civilian prisoner.

Lushtaku was jailed for 12 years and Selimi for six years, after a high-profile trial that was dogged by protests against the prosecutions of the former KLA fighters and a prison escape by three of the defendants.

The court convicted Lushtaku of murdering an Albanian civilian with a gunshot to the head at an undetermined location in September 1998.

According to the judge, Lushtaku committed “a grave form of murder, performed in a brutal way” while the “victim was helpless, begging for life and had his hands tied”.

However, the judge said that this was “an isolated incident, not directly related to the conflict”.

Selimi was found guilty of torturing a civilian in an improvised KLA detention centre in the village of Likovc/Likovac in the Skenderaj/Srbica municipality in 1998 and early 1999.

“On several occasions, Sylejman Selimi came to the [protected] witness A, severely violating his body integrity, accusing him of being a Serbian spy, which can be considered as inhumane treatment and torture,” the judge said.

The judge ordered both men to be remanded in custody and ordered them to pay 1,200 euros each for court expenses.

Both Lushtaku and Selimi were members of the KLA’s wartime ‘Drenica Group’, which was the source of many of Kosovo political leaders after the war, including former Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, who is now foreign affairs minister.

In a second hearing on Wednesday, the court also sentenced Selimi to an additional eight years for beating and torturing the same civilian prisoner, this time as part of a group.

Three other former KLA ‘Drenica Group’ members, Jahir Demaku, Zeqir Demaku and Isni Thaci, were meanwhile sentenced to seven years for the torture of civilians at the detention centre.

Ex-guerrillas Agim Demaj, Bashkim Demaj, Driton Demaj, Selman Demaj, Fadil Demaku, Nexhat Demaku were also sentenced to three years for beatings at the detention centre.

Four more former KLA fighters – Sabit Geci, Ismet Haxha, Sahit Jashari and Avni Zabeli – were found not guilty.

Both the defence and prosecution have the right to appeal within 15 days.