Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Rubin has expressed his concern about the judicial process in The Hague. \u201cThis is an unusual way to treat a head of state who voluntarily surrendered,\u201d Rubin declared in court during his testimony in defense of former President Hashim Tha\u00e7i.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the second day of his testimony, Rubin shared his views on the five-year-long judicial process against the former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), stating that he was concerned that the KLA\u2019s top four leaders had been held in pre-trial detention for so long. \u201cThis is not justice,\u201d Rubin emphasized, noting that he had closely observed the developments within the KLA and its leaders during the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His opinions regarding this trial were given in response to questions from the specialized prosecutor, James Pace, who previously remarked that \u201cTha\u00e7i\u2019s defense, on August 25, stated that you had refused to be questioned by the SPO.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe fact that the accused have been in detention in The Hague for over five years, that they voluntarily surrendered, and that they have been held for such a long time concerns me. I think this relates to politics and the rule of law. It worries me that someone would be held in detention for five years before a criminal case is even pursued, while these individuals voluntarily surrendered and were highly cooperative with the court. In this case, I do not understand why the accused had to remain in prison for five years,\u201d Rubin declared in The Hague.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He stated that he had spent hundreds of hours preparing to be a defense witness and noted that \u201cSecretary Albright did not intend this kind of justice when she initiated the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSecretary Albright did not have this type of justice in mind when she initiated prosecutions at the Hague Tribunal against Yugoslavia. So, to me, this seems simply like collective blame because the accused was a leader of the KLA. Having seen the KLA leaders firsthand in the mountains, I believe no one outside the KLA had such insight into how it operated. For three consecutive days, I observed how they behaved, who was responsible, who commanded, and who supported; I had this kind of knowledge, and knowing how events unfolded, I truly believe this was wrong. This is not justice. I am not a lawyer, but I have the right to express and voice my opinion,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rubin explained that he had spent \u201chours and hours\u201d thinking about this trial, consulting with international lawyers and attorneys, who told him that \u201cthis is an unusual way to treat a head of state who voluntarily surrendered.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFive or six years ago, when I first heard about this trial, I began examining the tribunal\u2019s composition. I spoke with academics, lawyers, and tried to review written articles and documents presented here, rereading much of the material. I also met with the defense team in Washington, spent five years thinking about it, preparing for it, anticipating the trial to open year after year, while nothing happened for many years. The indictment had been filed five years earlier, but the process took five years to proceed. I asked people in this field if this was normal, and they told me it was unusual to hold a head of state who voluntarily surrendered, in a jurisdiction established while he was prime minister, to show European leaders his country\u2019s willingness to join the EU, yet he remained detained for five years before the case was ready,\u201d Rubin said from the witness stand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During his second day of testimony at the Special Court in The Hague, Rubin stated that the United States initially described the KLA as a terrorist organization, but this stance changed \u201cas we better understood the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPerhaps we failed to always be on the side of the angels because, for a period, until we understood the situation better, we initially described the KLA as an organization engaged in terrorist activities. Certainly, we did not want to support or encourage terrorist activities. This position changed over time, especially after the KLA agreed to the Rambouillet Agreement. Then we considered them to be on the side of the angels because they signed the peace agreement,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the second day of testimony, Rubin was accompanied by a representative of the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During questions from the specialized prosecutor James Pace, Rubin said the United States had not verified claims of war crimes by KLA members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At The Hague, Rubin was also asked about a 1998 United Nations report stating that \u201cthe fate of many Serbs, Kosovo Albanians, Roma, and Serbian police officers allegedly abducted by Kosovo Albanians associated with the KLA is unknown.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI read a UN report on Kosovo but was skeptical because UN bodies often did not describe the situation accurately. I was aware of UN reporting but did not necessarily consider it reliable. I usually considered reports from the International Red Cross to be more trustworthy,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rubin said he had knowledge of discussions within the KLA but not before Rambouillet. During questioning by Prosecutor Pace, he explained whether he had been part of closed meetings held among KLA commanders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pace: \u201cDuring negotiations, were there long meetings among KLA leaders, commanders, without your presence?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rubin: \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pace: \u201cAnd during these meetings, you were not part of the closed sessions among commanders?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rubin: \u201cI am not sure I wasn\u2019t nearby, but I did not speak Albanian, so I may not have understood everything. But I was not barred from being in the room or hall where meetings took place. It was a large hall, and things occurred in various ways. I may have been near the room while discussions happened,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the second day of testimony, Rubin recounted whether he had met Jakup Krasniqi and Kadri Veseli as part of the Rambouillet delegation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pace: \u201cDid you meet or have contact with Kadri Veseli before February 1999?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rubin: \u201cTo be honest, I do not remember this individual, I cannot answer the question.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pace: \u201cKadri Veseli was part of the KLA delegation at Rambouillet; correct?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rubin: \u201cI do not know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pace: \u201cYour statement does not specifically mention Rexhep Selimi, correct?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rubin: \u201cCorrect, I don\u2019t think it mentions him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pace: \u201cDid you meet or have contact with Rexhep Selimi?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rubin: \u201cIt is very possible. I met many KLA commanders over the years but do not always recall their names because it was 25 years ago,\u201d Rubin added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Special prosecutor James Pace said it would take an hour and a half to finish questioning Rubin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his testimony on Monday, Rubin recalled meetings with former President Hashim Tha\u00e7i and dismissed claims that Tha\u00e7i, Jakup Krasniqi, and other KLA leaders executed or killed people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In preliminary questioning by Jakup Krasniqi\u2019s lawyer, Venketas\u00ebari Alagenda, Rubin said that Serbs have always tried to blame the KLA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Rubin is the first defense witness for Tha\u00e7i, with the defense planning to call around 11 witnesses in court. The trial will then continue with witnesses called by the defense of former Kosovo Assembly Chairman Jakup Krasniqi.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Rubin has expressed his concern about the judicial process in The Hague. \u201cThis is an unusual way to treat a head of state who voluntarily surrendered,\u201d Rubin declared in court during his testimony in defense of former President Hashim Tha\u00e7i. On the second day of his testimony, Rubin […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":76866,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[301,296],"tags":[6658,2302,1170],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kosovapress.com\/eng\/admin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76864"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kosovapress.com\/eng\/admin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kosovapress.com\/eng\/admin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kosovapress.com\/eng\/admin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kosovapress.com\/eng\/admin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76864"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kosovapress.com\/eng\/admin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76864\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76867,"href":"https:\/\/kosovapress.com\/eng\/admin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76864\/revisions\/76867"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kosovapress.com\/eng\/admin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kosovapress.com\/eng\/admin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kosovapress.com\/eng\/admin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kosovapress.com\/eng\/admin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}