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

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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

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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