The Kosovo Constitutional Court has ruled that Kosovo
parliamentarians and government officials do not have diplomatic
immunity in response to the EULEX request for clarification that was
forwarded by PM Haschim Thaci. Within 24 hours of the announcement of
the court's decision, EULEX placed Fatmir Limaj under a 30-day house arrest
in connection with war crimes charges filed earlier this year. The
date of the trial has not been set yet but it is rumored that the trial
will begin on 17 October according to local media or late October
according to EULEX.
The decision of the Constitutional Court has been criticized
by various members of the Kosovo government as a threat to democracy
and political maneuvering to get rid of competition in the run-up to the
presidential elections next year. Some Kosovo politicians worry that
removing diplomatic immunity from parliamentarians will lead to less freedom
as members of the government will fear retribution for speaking out
against powerful politicians and have a negative impact on the working
of the parliament because its members can be detained while the
parliament is in session, as the case with the upcoming session which
Fatmir Limaj will have to sit out due to his house arrest. Other
politicians say that it is a move by PM Thaci to create a police state.
The war crimes trial of former PM Ramush Haradinaj is continuing after a
three week break. The court heard testimony from a protected witness,
designated at Witness 077, who was reportedly a member of the FARK
(Armed Forces of the Republic of Kosovo) who crossed into Kosovo from
Albania. The witness told the court that the Haradinaj, a commander in
the KLA, told the FARK brigade to "go back where they came from" and alleges that five of the FARK members were taken and killed by the KLA.
