THE HAGUE, Netherlands - November 30, 2005 - The International Criminal Tribunal for Former-Yugoslavia (ICTY) on Wednesday acquitted a senior officer of the Kosovo Albanian rebels, Fatmir Limaj, of allegations of torturing and murdering Serbian and Albanian civilians at a prison camp during the 1998-1999 war.

A second defendant, Isak Musliu, was also acquitted, while the third, Haradin Bala, was sentenced to 13 years in prison for executing nine prisoners in woods in July 1998.

Dozen of friends, family and supporters in the public gallery applauded and roared in approval as Limaj's acquittal was announced.

In Kosovo, where Limaj is considered a hero by some, gunfire echoed through the Serbian province's capital Pristina in celebration and people honked their car horns.

Kosovo's President Ibrahim Rugova hailed the courts decision, saying that it proved "the righteousness of the war for liberation and independence by ethnic Albanians" in Kosovo.

"We are delighted," said Hashim Thaci, the former leader of the ethnic Albanian rebel force who now heads the opposition Democratic Party of which Limaj is a member. "It is a victory for Limaj, for citizens of Kosovo and for the political process," Thaci said in a statement.

Serb leaders in Kosovo criticized the ruling saying it will further undermine Serb trust into the international community.

In northern Kosovska Mitrovica, ethnic Albanian celebratory gunfire raised tensions and Serbs gathered by the hundreds near a bridge dividing the city along ethnic lines. No incidents were immediately reported.

It was the first trial of members of the NATO-backed Kosovo Liberation Army, which fought for independence from the Serbian state led by President Slobodan Milosevic.

The chief suspect, Limaj, 34, a former KLA commander, was accused of running the Lapusnik prison camp, about 25 kilometers (15 miles) west of Kosovo's capital, Pristina.

"The chamber finds it has not been proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused Fatmir Limaj had any role in the prison camp or in the execution in the Berishe mountains or that he has criminal responsibility for any offenses for which he is charged," Presiding Judge Kevin Parker said, reading the judgment.

Crimes had been committed at the camp that held Serbs and Albanians suspected of collaboration, the court found, but the prosecution failed to link Limaj to beatings, inhumane treatment, torture and murder.

Most prisoners were "detained in either a very small basement storage room or another very small room used as a cow shed," Parker said, describing the conditions. "In the cow shed, most detainees were chained to the wall and unable to move. They were forced to soil themselves in their clothes. Many of the prisoners had been badly injured and had broken limbs, bones or internal injuries."

The camp was abandoned in late July 1998 during an assault by Serbian forces and around 20 detainees were taken to the nearby mountains under a KLA escort.

Bala was sentenced for his role in the execution of nine prisoners, but the court said his sentence reflected his low rank.

"You were acting as a soldier under orders in releasing some prisoners and executing nine of them. You did not do this on your own initiative or decision. While that does not excuse your conduct it affects the degree of the seriousness of your conduct."

The defendants have been in custody since February 2003. All pleaded innocent to all charges.

The verdict came two days after thousands of protesters marched through Pristina demanding the men's release. Veterans and student groups hung posters of Limaj throughout the city in a show of support.

The war in Kosovo ended after a 78-day NATO bombing campaign against Serbia that forced Milosevic to pull Serbian troops out of Kosovo in 1999. Milosevic, who also was indicted for crimes against humanity in Kosovo, has built his defense on the argument that he was defending Serbs from a terrorist campaign conducted by the KLA.

Kosovo technically remains an autonomous part of Serbia-Montenegro, the union that has replaced Yugoslavia, and since the war has been administered a U.N. mission and patrolled by NATO-led peacekeepers.

The U.N. war crimes court so far has brought charges against six ethnic Albanian rebels, including Kosovo's former prime minister Ramush Haradinaj, who faces 36 counts for his wartime role.

Source: Calibre Macro*World