Thursday, December 18, 2008

ICTY: Trial Chamber Judgment in the Case Against Haraqija and Morina

Yesterday, the ICTY Trial Chamber rendered its judgment in the case (No. IT-04-84-R77.4) against Astrit Haraqija and Bajrush Morina. Haraqija was Minister for Culture, Youth, Sport of Kosovo; Morina was Deputy Minister. Both were charged (indictment here) with contempt of the Tribunal; Haraqija was charged, in the alternative, with incitement to contempt of the Tribunal. The allegation was that Morina, at Haraqija's instruction, met with a witness in an attempt to pressure that witness not to testify in the trial against Ramush Haradinaj, the former prime minster of Kosovo.

In its decision (summary here; press release here; judgment not yet available online), the Trial Chamber found both Haraqija and Morina guilty of contempt. It sentenced Haraqija to five months imprisonment and Morina to three months.