Kosovo Court Sentences KLA Commander to 17-years Imprisonment

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, July 17, 2003

Kosovo Court Sentences KLA Commander to 17-years Imprisonment

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A panel of three international judges in a Kosovo court on Wednesday sentenced Rustem Mustafa, the former commander of the now disbanded Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), to 17-years imprisonment for war crimes.

In Kosovo's first war crimes trial of former KLA members, the court in Pristina, capital of Kosovo province, also sentenced three members of Mustafa's group to 13, 10 and five years in prison.

The four ethnic Albanians were indicted for a total of 11 crimes committed against Albanians and Serbs during the 1988-99 conflict, including kidnapping, torture and murder of civilians, Tanjug News Agency reported Wednesday.

Mustafa was arrested on August 11, 2002, while the other three were arrested on January 28, 2002.

Lawyers of the four indicted men said they would appeal to Kosovo's higher court.

Ex-KLA members were regarded as heroes by many Kosovo Albanians,who demanded independence from Belgrade.

Kosovo, which was placed under United Nations-led administration in 1999 after a NATO bombing campaign against Yugoslavia, is part of the new union of Serbia and Montenegro.

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