Kosovo Prosecutors Indict Opposition Politician For Murders

Kosovo opposition politician Fatmir Limaj (file photo)

Kosovo prosecutors have indicted a senior politician in connection with two murders allegedly committed during the Balkan region's bitter war in the late 1990s.

The special prosecutor's office said on October 28 that Fatmir Limaj failed to prevent the murder of two Albanians in 1998 and also neglected to conduct a proper follow-up investigation into the case.

Limaj is a former commander in the Kosovo Liberation Army that fought a separatist war against Serbia in 1998-1999. He is now the leader of an opposition political party.

A United Nations tribunal acquitted Limaj on war crimes charges in 2005. Seven years later, a Pristina court staffed with international judges cleared him of allegations of torturing and killing Serb detainees during the conflict.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, which Belgrade has never recognized.