The Special Court for Kosovo (TEK) on Friday sentenced former Kosovo fighter Sali Mustafa to 26 years in prison after convicting him of three counts of war crimes, the first verdict reached by the court on an indictment of this caliber since its establishment in 2017.
Specifically, the court has convicted Mustafa, former commander of the BIA guerrilla unit of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), of the crimes of murder, torture and arbitrary detention committed at the group’s base in the Kosovar town of Zllash during the month of April 1999, two months before the end of the war that involved, for 15 months, the KLA against the forces of the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro).
The findings published by the court on its website describe Mustafa as the «sole and absolute commander» of this organization and implicate him in the murder of at least two persons detained at this base on suspicion of espionage as part of a KLA «purge» against alleged infiltrators within the organization, and who eventually succumbed to torture by his militias.
«The detainees were accused of espionage, collaboration with Serbia or treason, and were locked up in degrading conditions, without water, food or sufficient access to medical care,» which left their victims with «physical or psychological wounds that will last a lifetime.»
Mustafa, known as «Commander Cali,» personally interrogated and mistreated two of the detainees, and even orchestrated a «mock execution» against one of them to finish terrorizing him. In the end, two of the victims, according to the Court, eventually succumbed to the torture inflicted by the BIA and even had «identifiable bullet wounds on their bodies».
The former guerrilla was acquitted of the war crime of «cruel treatment of prisoners» (as the prosecution understood that this crime was «fully covered» by the torture charge for which he was finally convicted) and the time served behind bars since his arrest in September 2020 will be taken into account.
Prosecutor Alex Whiting has applauded the verdict against Mustafa as a message of justice towards the victims and praised the courage of the witnesses and survivors, considering the permanent threats against them, hence the creation of the Tribunal and the establishment of its seat in The Hague.
«Today’s judgment represents a victory for justice and, in particular, for Sali Mustafa’s victims and their families, all Kosovar Albanians, whose personal tragedies have been at the center of this case, and who have suffered for over two decades because of Mustafa’s actions,» said Whiting.
