Pjeter Shala Receives 18-Year Sentence for Kosovo War Crimes

Former Kosovo Liberation Army member Pjeter Shala has been sentenced to 18 years in prison by the Kosovo tribunal in The Hague for war crimes during the 1998-99 Kosovo uprising. Shala was found guilty of torture, murder, and arbitrary detention despite maintaining his innocence throughout the trial.

Judges at the Kosovo tribunal in The Hague sentenced former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) member Pjeter Shala to 18 years in prison for war crimes committed during the 1998-99 Kosovo uprising against Serbian troops.

Shala was convicted of war crimes including torture, murder, and arbitrary detention. He allegedly operated a makeshift prison where individuals were abused and at least one man was killed. Throughout his trial, Shala maintained his innocence and his defense lawyers argued he was neither present nor involved when the crimes were committed.

The judges, however, concluded that Shala was "beyond reasonable doubt" part of a criminal group that detained and mistreated at least 18 people they believed to be spies or collaborators with the Serbs. More than 13,000 people are estimated to have died in the 1998-99 Kosovo uprising against Serbian troops led by Slobodan Milosevic. Kosovo declared independence in 2008, though Serbia does not recognize it.

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers, a court established in the Netherlands in 2015, handles cases under Kosovo law against KLA fighters. It operates independently from a U.N. tribunal that prosecuted nationals from the former Yugoslavia for crimes during the 1990s Balkans conflicts.

(With inputs from agencies.)