Fatmir Limaj (born 4 February 1971), is a Kosovo-Albanian politician. He is the leader of ''Nisma për Kosovën''. Limaj served as Minister of Transport and Telecommunication in the government of the Republic of Kosova. He was known as "Çeliku" during the Yugoslav wars.

Biography

Fatmir Limaj is a politician from Banjë, a village in Malishevë, Kosovo. During the 1999

Kosovo War The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...

, Limaj was a commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), in the Lapušnik area.http://www.icty.org/x/cases/limaj/cis/en/cis_limaj_al_en.pdf His alias was ''Çeliku''. After the war he was one of the founders of what is now Kosovo's largest political party, the Democratic Party of Kosovo. After his indictment, which he was freed from in 2007 ( see below), he has returned to politics. In the elections held in December 2010 he was third most voted leader in the whole country but he decided not to be part of the government. Limaj was charged of another war crime case by

European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo The European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, known as EULEX Kosovo or simply as EULEX,About EULEX
accessed 15 Ja ...

(EULEX), he was held for seven months in the house arrest and on 21 March the Court declared all statements of

witness In law, a witness is someone who has knowledge about a matter, whether they have sensed it or are testifying on another witnesses' behalf. In law a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, e ...

X as inadmissible whilst the whole indictment was based on those statements. Hours after that Limaj was released with the court order. Fatmir was

Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo The prime minister of the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Kryeministri i Republikës së Kosovës, sr, Премијер Републике Косова, Premijer Republike Kosova) is the head of government of Kosovo. The prime minister and the Gove ...

in the cabinet of

Ramush Haradinaj Ramush Haradinaj (; born 3 July 1968) is a Kosovo Albanian politician, leader of the AAK party, and the third prime minister of Kosovo. He is a former officer and leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), and previously served as Prime Minister ...

from September 2017 to February 2020.

Indictment

Limaj was arrested on 18 February 2003, in

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia ( ICTY) charged him, Isak Musliu and Haradin Bala with war crimes against Serbs and Albanians regarding illegal imprisonment, cruel treatment, inhuman acts, and murders in Lapušnik prison camp. On 4 March 2003, he was sent to

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

, and on 15 November 2004, the trial began. In November 2005, Limaj was acquitted by the ICTY. In September 2007, "The Appeals Chamber finds that the Trial Chamber reasonably found that Fatmir Limaj does not incur criminal responsibility for any of the offences charged in the indictment," Judge

Fausto Pocar Fausto Pocar (born 1939) is an Italian jurist. He is professor emeritus of International Law at the University of Milan, where he also taught Private International Law and European Law, and where he served many years as Faculty Dean and Vice-Re ...

said. On press conference help upon Judge Pocar's ruling, Limaj said that this verdict opens new paths for new victories.

Verdict

Limaj was found not guilty by an international court in 2018 for the murder of two Albanians during the separatist war.fox
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Notes and references

Notes: References: {{DEFAULTSORT:Limaj, Fatmir 1971 births Albanian nationalists in Kosovo Living people Deputy Prime Ministers of Kosovo People from Mališevo Kosovo Albanians People acquitted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia Kosovo Liberation Army soldiers