A Serbian court has sentenced a citizen of Kosovo to prison for a war crime amid rising tensions between Belgrade and Pristina, reported France Press.
A court in Belgrade found Nezir Mehmetaj guilty yesterday of his role in kidnapping rum during the war between Serbian government forces and Kosovo Albanian rebels fighting for Kosovo's independence from Serbia in the late 1990s , BTA recalls.
Mehmetaj was sentenced to six years in prison by the High Court in Belgrade.
Serbia and Kosovo, home to mostly ethnic Albanians, have been in conflict since the end of armed conflict in the once-Serbian region.
Belgrade does not recognize the independence of Kosovo declared in 2008. The two countries are conducting a dialogue to normalize their relations with the mediation of the EU.
Tensions escalated after Pristina blamed Serbia for blowing up last week in northern Kosovo a strategic canal supplying water to two Kosovo power plants. Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti described the explosion as an act of terrorism. Belgrade rejects the accusations.
War crimes cases against Kosovo Albanians in Serbian courts are rare.
Mehmetai was arrested by the Serbian police in January 2020 at the Merdare border crossing between Kosovo and Serbia. He has since been detained in Belgrade, and the time spent in custody will be deducted from the sentence.
We will certainly appeal, Mehmetai's lawyer, Milich Konstantinovich, told AFP.
He was convicted on only one count of the indictment, which was based solely on the testimony of one protected witness, Konstantinovich added.