KOSOVO: ALBIN KURTI INDICTED FOR FEBRUARY 10 RIOT,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PRISTINA 000453 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/SCE, DRL, INL, AND S/WCI, NSC FOR BRAUN, USUN FOR DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI, USOSCE FOR STEVE STEGER, OPDAT FOR ACKER E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/08/2017 TAGS: PGOV KJUS KCRM EAID KDEM UNMIK YI SUBJECT: KOSOVO: ALBIN KURTI INDICTED FOR FEBRUARY 10 RIOT, BUT THEN RELEASED TO HOUSE ARREST REF: PRISTINA 164 Classified By: COM TINA KAIDANOW FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: An international prosecutor filed an indictment against Vetevendosje/Self-Determination Movement (SDM) leader Albin Kurti in the Pristina District Court on June 4, 2007 for crimes related to the violent February 10 SDM demonstration in Pristina. Although the indictment recommended detention on remand and requested that a three-judge international panel rule on the recommendation within 48 hours, the panel ruled on June 7 that Kurti should be released from prison and placed under house arrest pending his trial. Prosecutors were given 24 hours to appeal the decision and have done so, but have not received a response from the judges assigned to the case. Kurti held a press conference from his Pristina apartment on June 8 during which he denied the charges and vowed to defy the house arrest order and plan another SDM demonstration. He trashed both the Kosovar leadership for its inability to secure Kosovo independence and claimed that the international community viewed Kosovo as a bargaining tool. Kurti's actions during his first 24 hours under house arrest demonstrate the likelihood of his continued resistance and the potentially destabilizing role SDM could play in Kosovo during this fragile period. UNMIK's Deputy Civpol Commander told heads of liaison offices that Kurti would be re-arrested if he violated his house arrest. END SUMMARY. The Kurti Indictment ¶2. (SBU)) International Public Prosecutor Andrew Mayes (Canada) filed an indictment against Vetevendosje/Self-Determination Movement (SDM) leader Albin Kurti in the Pristina District Court on June 4 for crimes committed during the violent February 10 SDM demonstration in Pristina. The indictment charges Kurti with: 1) participating in a crowd committing a criminal offense, 2) participating in a group obstructing officials from performing their duties, and 3) issuing a call to resistance. The first count carries a potential sentence of three months to five years in prison. The indictment specifies that Kurti urged an assembled crowd of several thousand to cause general ;danger and/or damage property on a large scale by throwing 351 glass bottles filled with a red substance at vehicles and buildings of the Kosovo Government, Kosovo Assembly and UNMIK. If prosecutors can prove that Kurti led the crowd, the sentence could be elevated to between one and 10 years in prison. The second count carries an unspecified fine or up to three years in prison. According to the indictment, Kurti is guilty of obstructing Kosovo Police Service (KPS) and UNMIK Police who were trying to protect Kosovo Government, Kosovo Assembly, and UNMIK property (Kurti pushed through a police cordon and incited others to do so). Finally, the third count carries a prison sentence of three years or less. It stems from Kurti's February 10 call to SDM protesters to proceed to the Kosovo Government building despite KPS and UNMIK Police cordons and police orders to the contrary. Request for Continued Detention ¶3. (C) At the end of the indictment, Mayes proposed detention on remand for Kurti pending his trial based on a well-grounded suspicion that Kurti committed the crimes of which he is accused. Mayes also argued that Kurti is a flight risk and might obstruct the progress of the criminal proceeding or repeat the same criminal offense. Mayes asked that a three-judge international panel decide on his recommendation within 48 hours. The Pristina District Court convened the panel on June 7, and the three international judges issued a ruling terminating Kurti's detention on remand in favor of house arrest, without opportunity for any oral argument from prosecutors. According to UNMIK DOJ, Kurti was transferred from the Prizren prison to his Pristina apartment that same afternoon. (Note: International prosecutors were given 24 hours to appeal. International PRISTINA 00000453 002 OF 003 prosecutor Elizabeth Rennie told USOP they have appealed the decision, but have not gotten a response from the judges; an answer is likely on Monday.) The house arrest ruling will remain in effect for two months and prevents Kurti from leaving his home. It does not, however, prohibit him from talking to the media or holding political meetings in his home. ¶4. (SBU) In the house arrest ruling, signed by international judge Alain Bloch (Belgium) on behalf of the panel, the judges reasoned that it is the court's duty to keep detention on remand as short as possible and noted that Kurti has been in detention since February 10 and is not expected to go on trial until the fall. They also reasoned that Kurti intends to "play a role in the political determination of his country" and is therefore not a flight risk. Finally, concerning the international prosecutor's fear that Kurti might obstruct the criminal proceedings, the judges counter that the indictment has been filed and the investigation has been completed so obstruction is no longer a threat. The ruling concludes by arguing that two questions remain in favor of Kurti's release under house arrest: 1) "freedom of expression and peaceful demonstration," and 2) the fact that while Kurti may proceed as he did previously (i.e., organizing protests and failing to honor his house arrest terms),"the political situation is evolving each day, so that it is not excluded that (he) will make a reappraisal of his attitude." At a briefing by the SRSG for the heads of local liaison offices on June 8, the Deputy UN Civpol Commissioner said that his officers had Kurti's house under 24/7 surveillance and that Kurti would be re-arrested if he violated the terms of his release. Kurti's Press Conference ¶5. (SBU) Less than 24 hours after returning to his apartment in Pristina, Kurti held a press conference in which he stated that he would not respect the house arrest decision and would intensify preparations for another SDM demonstration. According to the transcript SDM released of the June 8 press conference, Kurti also told reporters that the house arrest order was an attempt to create the illusion that he had been released and to "soften and balance" the indictment. He complained that house arrest was actually worse than prison and dismissed the charges of participating in a crowd committing a criminal offense and obstructing officials from performing their duties. Instead, he accused the Romanian Formed Police Unit, which likely fired the fatal shots during the February 10 demonstration, of committing the criminal offense and said he and his SDM followers did not succeed in obstructing the officials because police shot them down. On the final charge of issuing a call to resistance, Kurti said it was a compliment because "resistance is his favorite word, after self-determination." Kurti also used his press conference to express his belief that the G-8's consideration of further delay to a decision on status was expected and to accuse the international community of not viewing Kosovo as an urgent issue, but simply a bargaining tool. Background on the Case Against Kurti ¶6. (SBU) Kurti was arrested at the SDM headquarters in Pristina on February 10 following a violent SDM demonstration that resulted in two deaths and more than 80 injuries. The international public prosecutor initiated the criminal investigation against him and filed an application for his detention on remand on February 13. That same day, an international pre-trial judge approved the detention on remand request. On March 5, the international prosecutor filed an application to extend Kurti's detention on remand, which a panel of judges granted for an additional two months. On May 7, Kurti's case was heard again, and the pre-trial judge ordered on May 10 that he be released from prison and placed under house arrest. That order prohibited Kurti from leaving his Pristina apartment or having any contact with SDM members. Later that day, police informed the pre-trial judge PRISTINA 00000453 003 OF 003 that Kurti had held a press conference in Pristina and subsequently travelled to the town of Podujevo, and the pre-trial judge ordered police to re-arrest him. On May 11, the pre-trial judge extended Kurti's detention on remand until June 10. Kurti remained in prison until the three-judge international panel ordered his release on June 7. ¶7. (C) COMMENT: Kurti's re-release comes at a particularly bad time; his June 8 press conference demonstrates that he will continue to defy Kosovo and international authorities and to stir up the emotions of Kosovars who may grow increasingly impatient with the pace of the final status process. His past actions have proven not only dangerous, but deadly, and he promises to continue to be a destabilizing force in Kosovo. Why the international judge who ordered his release failed to take this into account remains a mystery. In any event, USOP will continue to monitor developments in the Kurti case and to urge patience and restraint on the part of Kosovars as the final status process moves forward. KAIDANOW