Kosovo ex-commander appears before Hague court, delays war crimes plea

A former commander in the ethnic Albanian guerrilla movement the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) said on Monday he was not ready to enter a plea in an initial appearance before a war crimes tribunal in The Hague. During the war, the KLA battled against Serbian forces in what was then a province of Serbia.

A former commander in the ethnic Albanian guerrilla movement the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) said on Monday he was not ready to enter a plea in an initial appearance before a war crimes tribunal in The Hague. Salih Mustafa, 48, was arrested last week and brought to the Hague tribunal on four charges stemming from the 1998-1999 Kosovo War, including murder and torture, which he is accused of having committed as head of an interrogation site.

"Your honor I said I won't enter a plea today, I will consult with my lawyer," Mustafa, the first defendant to appear at the court formally known as Kosovo Specialist Chambers, told presiding judge Judge Nicolas Guillou. During the war, the KLA battled against Serbian forces in what was then a province of Serbia. NATO aircraft bombed the Serbian forces to prevent what Western countries described as a campaign against Kosovo's Albanian ethnic majority. Kosovo later declared independence from Serbia in 2008.