ALBANIAN TERRORISM AND ORGANIZED CRIME IN KOSOVO AND METOHIJA
BIA (Security Information
Agency)
Belgrade, September 2003
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
1.
Continuity of terrorist organization of Albanian extremists
2.
Characteristics of ANA activities
3. Data
on the victims of violence in K&M
4.
Organized crime
-
Criminal activities in K&M
-
Activities of the Albanian mafia around the world
-
Influence of criminal factors from the Republic of Albania
5. The
Role of Albanian Emigration
6.
Pan-Islamic Factor
List of terrorists and
members of organized criminal organizations in K&M
1.
Hajdin Abazi
2.
Ekrem Avdija
3.
Alush Agushi
4.
Rasim Agushi
5.
Nazmi Ajeti
6.
Hisni Ahmeti
7.
Abdulah Babalija
8.
Masar Bakija
9. Idriz Balaj
10.
Afrim Basha
11.
Sokol Bashota
12.
Bajram Bega
13.
Gjemajl Bejta
14. Avni Berisha
15. Rustem Berisha
16. Shefik Beqiri
17. Lahi Ibrahimi
18. Ram Buja
19. Shukri Buja
20. Jah
Bushati
21.
Jusuf Velia
22. Azem Veseli
23. Kadri Veseli
24.
Rexhep Veseli
25. Sali Veseli
26. Skender Veseli
27. Besim Vokshi
28. Latif Gashi
29. Fahrudin Gashi.
30. Jetulah Gecaj
31. Sabit Gecaj
32. Gani Geci.
33. Adem Grabovci
34. Jahir Demaku
35. Milazim Derguti
36. Jetulah Dibrani
37. Sokol Dobruna
38. Shaban Dragaj
39. Florim Ejupi
40. Agim Elshani
41. Xhabir Zharku
42. Dritton Zhjeqi
43. Tahir Zemaj
44. Genc Zogaj
45. Bislim Zyrapi
46. Nuredin Ibishi
47. Imri Ilazi
48. Gani Imeri
49. Elisah Imeri
50. Bexhet Imishti
51. Ahmet Isufi
52. Lirim Jakupi
53. Januz Januzaj
54. Bashkim Jashari
55. Musa Jashari
56. Rifat Jashari
57. Sahit Jashari
58. Naim Kadriu
59. Giner Kamberi
60. Ajvaz Karpuzi
61. Ajet Kastrati
62. Kadri Kastrati
63. Mensur Kasumi
64. Naser Kelmendi
65. Hisni Kilaj
66.
Anton Kitaj
67.
Fadhil Kodra
68.
Arif Krasniqi
69.
Gani Krasniqi
70. Gjimshit Krasniqi
71. Emin Krasniqi
72. Jakup Krasniqi
73. Skender Krasniqi
74. Bajram Kryeziu
75. Mazlom Kumnova
76. Mirsad Kurteshi
77. Agim Kuqi
78. Ramiz Lladrovci
79. Fatmir Limaj
80. Ekrem Lluka
81. Isa Latifi
82. Muhamet Latifi
83. Lulzim Leci
84. Afrim Lulaj
85. Nuredin Lushtaku
86. Sami Lushtaku
87. Enver Mavriqi
88. Naim Maloku
89. Faton Mehmetaj
90. Nazif Mehmeti
91. Fadil Mujota
92.
Shefqet Musliu
93.
Isak Musliu
94.
Rustem Mustafa
95.
Salih Mustafa
96.
Arif Muqoli
97.
Maliq Ndrecaj
98.
Selami Neziri
99.
Jakup Nura
100.
Enver Oruçi
101.
Gjumshit Osmani
102. Nebih Preniqi
103.
Rahman Rama
104.
Illmi Ramusholi
105.
Elmi Reqica
106.
Ekrem Rexha
107. Bedri Rexhaj
108. Ismet Sadiku
109.
Ruzhdi Saramati
110.
Rexhep Selimi
111.
Sylejman Selimi
112. Abedin Sogojeva
113. Fatmir Sopi
114. Azem Syla
115. Shemsi Syla
116. Fadil Suljević
117. Emrush Suma
118. Rufki Suma
119.
Ismet Tara
120.
Gani Thaqi
121.
Hashim Thaqi
122.
Ahmet Qeriqi
123.
Ramiz Qeriqi
124.
Sami Ukshini
125. Avni Feta
126. Adem Hagjocaj
127. Abit Haziraj
128. Sadik Halitjaha
129. Xhavit Haliti
130.
Bujar Haradinaj
131.
Daut Haradinaj
132.
Ramush Haradinaj
133.
Nait Hasani
134.
Safet Hasani
135.
Xhabit Hasani
136.
Zeqir Haxhija
137. G¸zim Haxhimusa
138. Hekuran Hoda
139. Fatmir Humolli
140. Sabajdin Cena
141. Agim Çeku
142.
Ethem Çeku
143.
Muhamet Çerkezi
144.
Emrush Xhemajli
145.
Idriz Shabani
146.
Besnik Shala
147.
Shaban Shala
148.
Shaban Shala
149.
Naser Shatri
150.
Xhafer Shatri
151.
Mustafa Shaqiri
152.
Shaqir Shaqiri
153.
Adem Shehu
154.
Elbasan Shoshaj
155.
Bekim Shuti
156.
Met Shuti
Introduction
Albanian terrorism in Kosovo and Metohija
(K&M), as well as in the municipalities of Preševo, Bujanovac and
Medvedja, is linked to different types of organized crime. It represents
a permanent danger to the safety of the population and political
stability, not only in our country, but also in other countries in the
region.
The strategists of these activities
want to ensure the legalization of their criminal activities and
accumulated wealth and to enable the establishment of Greater Albania or
Greater Kosovo in order to complete the territory they consider Albanian
ethnic space and spread their internal market and, in proportion to
their economic power, secure the political influence and participation
in the top administrative state bodies on the territory. Support of
violence and permanent disruption of stability in the Balkans make it
possible for the scenario to be effectively implemented in practice.
Having established cooperation with the criminal organizations, the
strategists of terrorist activities have strengthened their political
position which they use for exerting pressure on the overall Albanian
population as well as on autochthonous Albanian political subjects,
enforcing collaboration and concessions.
Thus, the public gets the
impression of complete homogeneity of the Albanian nationals and their
unison endeavors toward a common objective. However, interests of some
criminal organizations are hidden behind the political, ideological and
national motives for the establishment of a unified Albanian state
(regardless of whether they call it Greater Albania or Greater Kosovo).
They tend to take part in the current processes of political and
economic transition, i.e. transformation of the region as a whole, and
to legalize their criminal operations.
Albanians, particularly
those from Kosovo and Metohija, have developed a sense of collective
identity which is a necessary prerequisite for organized crime
activities. This very element, based on the sense of belonging to a
defined group, has linked Albanian organized crime with pan-Albanian
ideals, politics, military activities and terrorism.
A relatively universal model
of terrorist operations in the world - which is, as a rule, usually
funded from criminal sources (trafficking in drugs, arms and people, as
well as in excise goods) - was applied, at one time, by the leaders of
the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), and was taken over, and is applied
now, by the leaders of the Albanian National Army (ANA).
In this way, unhindered and permanent inflow of resources for criminal
activities has been provided, while the leaders of KLA and ANA, as well
as the most vocal Albanian patriots, have accumulated enormous personal
wealth under the conditions of deep and long-lasting socio-economic
crisis prevailing in the region. This is an additional impetus to the
spreading of criminal activities in the region which is, still, an
inexhaustible source of the so-called dirty money which is the basis for
providing the continuity of terrorist activities and a permanent
recruitment of new fighters.
A characteristic of the
common model of internal organization of Albanian terrorist and criminal
organizations is their compliance with the rule of territorial division,
with the recognition of the interest zones and influence of certain
families. Accordingly, in each of the groups, the basic membership is
recruited from the fis, that is, an extended family, or the clan
that predominates on a certain territory.
Precise territorial and clan
division of the greatest part of Albanian society contributes to the
preservation of traditional hierarchical structure, its distrust of the
outsiders and very strict inner discipline of the members which is still
maintained with the application of the common law of Leka Dugagjini or
the clan honor code. The threat of mandatory execution of blood feud
(vendetta) in cases of betrayal or dishonored agreement, provide for
complete protection of the perpetrators of terrorist activities and
criminal acts and, at the same time, is the most common cause for murder
among the Albanian population.
At the time KLA was being
founded, in the first half of 1993, organized crime was not so prominent
in this region. Primarily for the purpose of arming the newly organized
groups, members of KLA in the areas of Drenica and Metohija established
connections with their relatives, migrant workers in Switzerland,
Germany, Belgium, Sweden and other countries, who had already been
involved in illicit activities, and established multiple channels for
transporting the arms and equipment, as well as financial resources for
the needs of K&M terrorists.
This way, a firm link of the
key persons of Albanian terrorism and the leaders of organized crime in
the region with the highly criminalized and politically manipulated
Albanian diaspora, a very important factor in the operation of the
partnership between Albanian terrorism and criminal organizations, was
established.
At the same time, the
sanctions imposed on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia by the
international community and the trade blockade of the FYRepublic of
Macedonia by Greece have switched drug trafficking from the routes
connecting Turkey with the Western European market to a new one, across
the territory of Albania and K&M. A part of the money earned in these
illicit operations was paid to some allegedly humanitarian funds that
were actually used to sponsor the activities of KLA members.
Of almost DM 900 million
that reached Kosovo and Metohija in the between 1996 and 1999, nearly a
half was the money earned in drug trafficking, which made Interpol
experts conclude (in December 2000) that the activities of fund raising
for Kosmet and KLA were used for laundering of illegally acquired money.
KLA did not use the channels
for illegal transportation of drugs only as a way to ship heroin to
Europe in order to earn enormous profits, but also to smuggle arms to
the Balkans. Drugs were directly traded for arms, or the arms were
purchased with the money earned from drug trafficking in Albania, B&H,
Croatia, Cyprus, Italy, Montenegro, Switzerland and Turkey.
In 1999, "The Washington Times” published a
statement of American anti-drug agents that KLA was linked with a wide
network of organized crime, with the headquarters in Albania. The
documents they possess suggest that it was one of the most powerful
organizations for heroin trafficking in the world, and that most of the
profits generated from this illicit activity were channeled to the
procurement of arms for KLA. The arrival of international forces to K&M
resulted in the disintegration and formal demilitarization of KLA, but
the organization has not as yet discontinued its activities. A part of
the membership re-directed their activities to the political level,
through the Democratic Party of Kosovo (DPK)
and the Alliance for the Future of
Kosovo (AFK),
while about 10,000 troops were included into the transformation of KLA
into the Kosovo Protective Corps (KPC) and the Kosovo Police Service (KPS).
Since the revitalization of economic activities as the only legal source
of income for the population has not been adequately conducted, a
substantial number of terrorists have continued to produce violence,
actively pursuing their criminal activities.
The foundation of ANA, as a
terrorist organization, was facilitated by the fact that the
organizational and the operational core was composed of the members of
former KLA determined to implement their previously set goals and
complete the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo and Metohija and other,
allegedly Albanian territories. Also, ANA organization mimics the KLA
model, uses the same methods of operation, the same channels for
smuggling weapons and even the same bank accounts and, allegedly,
humanitarian funds abroad by means of which they provide significant
funding for their activities.
It logically appears that
the organized crime in K&M took over the structure and infrastructure of
KLA, developed and branched concomitantly with Albanian terrorism and
now represents a stable and expansive material and financial base of the
Albanian terrorist and separatist movement as a whole. In June 2003, in
his public statement for the media, Barry Fletcher, UNMIK police
spokesman for K&M, said that one of the greatest obstacles the UN faced
was the deeply rooted Albanian mafia that used nationalistic slogans of
Kosmet Albanians whenever it suited their needs.
1. Continuity of
terrorist organization of Albanian extremists
The pretensions of the so-called Government
of the Republic of Kosovo presided by Bujar Bukoshi, an asylum seeker in
Germany, connected with the establishment of a parallel system of
Albanian administration in K&M resulted in foundation of the Armed
Forces of the Republic of Kosovo (AFRK).
The formation was joined by officers
of the former Yugoslav People‘s Army (YPA) of Albanian extraction, all
advocating separatism, who wanted to set up a professional core of the
Kosovo Army. The initiative failed and the leader of the group, Ahmet
Krasniqi, was murdered in 1997 in Tirana.
Since the initiative for
setting up the AFRK was raised by DPK, due to the rivalry among the
Albanian parties, members of these forces, although fully professionally
trained, failed to attain more important positions within the KLA which
the AFRK subsequently joined. However, the rivalry between the members
of these two organizations still exists. KLA was founded by the most
extreme members of the National Kosovo Movement (NKM) and the Popular
Movement for Kosovo Liberation (PMKL), illegal organizations at the
time, led by the members of so-called Marxist-Leninist faction.
The first KLA armed groups
in the region of Drenica were led by Adem Jashari of Donji Prekaz, and
the membership was composed mainly of his close and distant relatives,
usually persons prone to violent behavior and petty crime. Subsequently,
they were joined by the former YPA officers and the Serbian police
officers of Albanian extraction who refused loyalty to the state and its
bodies, as well as participants in the armed conflicts in the regions of
Croatia and Bosnia & Herzegovina with combat experience.
In spite of the fact that
the initial membership of the organization did not have the necessary
appeal to attract new members, KLA managed to become significantly
large. This is primarily due to the advocacy for secession of K&M from
the Republic of Serbia espoused by the leaders of the Albanian community
who, in the light of the distinguished patriarchal relations, have the
decisive influence on their compatriots. The terror enforced by the
local terrorist organizations over "indifferent" part of the Albanian
population had an almost identical effect. Organized in so-called
"troikas", the extremists visited the heads of the clans and threatened
to liquidate some of those of who had refused to send members to KLA
units.
Strengthening of KLA was substantially helped by crime money and the
support of Albanian diaspora.
In March 1999, the German
police reported that the increase in the heroin trade on the markets of
Germany, Switzerland and the Scandinavian countries pursued by the
Albanians coincided with the strengthening of KLA. It was concluded that
KLA had developed from a lightly armed peasant army consisting of
different age groups into a power with tens of thousands of troops armed
with rocket launchers, anti-armor weapons and AK-47 rifles.
KLA troops were the largest
during NATO bombing when they were 20,000 strong. The brigades were
founded which operated, without any significant coordination among them,
in seven operational areas: Drenica, Patrick, Dukadjin, Shalja, Lab,
Nerodimlje and Karadak (maps 1, 2 and 3). The Central Command was set up
with the arrival of Agim Çheku to the position of the chief of staff. At
the same time, territorial rearrangement was conducted resulting in
disappearance of Nerodimlje as an area of operation.
Upon transformation of KLA,
about 5,000 troops remained in the military structures supervised by
international forces, mainly in the ranks of KPC.
Since KLA headquarters and almost full KLA command staff were taken over
by KPC, headed by Agim Çeku, it appears logical that the formation has
maintained the organizational and operational core of KLA (map 4).
Engagement of these people, former terrorists, who continued, within the
legal institution,
Soon after KPC had been set
up, in the OSCE report of November 1999 evidences were presented proving
that some criminal acts and abuse of the population were committed by
the members of KPC. This was subsequently substantiated by the UN
representatives in K&M who stated that they were familiar with the facts
of direct involvement of some KPC representatives in the acts of
terrorism committed in the region.
In addition to the political
motives, the formation of the Liberation Army of Preševo, Medveđa and
Bujanovac (LAPMB) and the National Liberation Army (NLA) in charge of
the initiation of armed conflicts in the south of Serbia and western
Macedonia in the late 1999 was also influenced by the need of the
Albanian terrorist leaders to channel the activities of a large number
of idle KLA members. In the stated organizations, the command was taken
over by persons from the local communities who had received KLA military
training and acquired the necessary experience.
In the middle of 2003,
members of UN police in K&M came to the conclusion that from November
2000 the activities of the Albanian extremist groups were expanding to
the south of Serbia and to western FYROM where the territory of K&M was
used as the sanctuary and base for enforcing these destabilizing
operations.
The same, basically criminal
mode of recruitment was used in the field, in an effort to convince the
people that the amount of their national-patriotism corresponded to the
number of the members. The criminal behavior of the members was
manifested in a forceful seizure of property from civilians,
particularly cargo vehicles and luxury cars, allegedly for the needs of
the "liberation struggle".
In the course of 2001,
armed conflicts between Albanian terrorists and security forces in the
south of Serbia were intensified. They were planned and were given
logistic support by some members of KPC command, located in Gnjilane.
Also, some more members of KPC,
engaged in the performance of concrete terrorist actions, were
identified among the LAPMB members.
Shefqet Musliu, up to then
just a local criminal, was the LAPMB commander, with headquarters in
Dobrosin, while the regional headquarters was situated in Char
(commander Muhamet Xhemaili, aka Robeli) and Breznica (commander Ridvan
Çazimi, aka Leshi). Major concentrations of terrorists were also present
in Muhovac, Končulj and regions of Veliki and Mali Trnovac.
The KPC regional command and
operative system provided the complete logistics for the activities of
LAPMB and NLA. This was accomplished by having the members of KPC on the
territory of K&M, recruiting new members for these organizations,
training them and transfering them permanently to the regions of crisis.
Although they were obliged
to hand in all available arms to the KFOR forces, KPC members retained a
substantial part of the arsenal and left it to be used by the LAPMB and
NLA terrorists. These weapons found their way to the illegal market of
K&M thus additionally contributing to the intensification of all forms
of criminal activities in the region.
The LAPMB activities
were mostly funded by illegal trade in cigarettes and drugs in Greece,
FYROM, K&M and Montenegro assisted by several legally registered
companies in the region.
A part of the proceeds was directed
to funding of several camps in K&M where terrorists were trained and
used for the procurement of modern arms and for paying the fees of
professional military instructors from some western countries.
Weapons and military
equipment for LAPMB were supplied by the smuggling of arms carried out
by some members of the organization who did it for their own profit
although a part of the proceeds was set aside for the organization
itself. The said goods were brought in through illegal channels, but
also via border crossings with Albania and FYR Macedonia, such as
Đeneral Janković, Jazince, Tchafa Prushit, Morina and Tropoja.
Some members of LAPMB
bought arms from the members of KPC who have established, together with
former KLA members, their own channels for illegal trade, over the
territory of K&M.
After LAPMB had been demilitarized,
some of the commanders organized illegal transport of a part of the arms
to the territory of FYR Macedonia for the needs of NLA, whereby some of
them generated substantial profits for themselves.
Immediately after the
demilitarization of LAPMB, its members, pretending to be the refugees
from the south of Serbia in K&M, trying to avoid possible criminal
responsibility for their participation in terrorist attacks, established
the Liberation Army of East Kosovo (LAEK)
in Gnjilane. Expectations that this
formation would continue the fight to annex Preševo, Bujanovac and
Medvedja to independent Kosovo, initiated by LAPMB, did not come true,
since this group has not, so far, recruited mass membership.
After the official
disbanding of KLA had been announced in October 1999, activities of
about 40 armed groups of Albanians (with 10 to 300 active members,
usually from the ranks of former KLA and individuals with criminal
background) were recorded in the territory of K&M in different
intervals.
Most of these groups were
set up upon the initiative or through direct engagement of Rustem
Mustafa, aka commander Remi, Fatmir Humoli and some KPC officers who
operate under the supervision of Hashim Thaqi, Ramush Haradinaj or the
so called Albanian secret services established in K&M.
The members of these groups
focused their activities on intimidation of Serbian population and
ethnic cleansing of the territory of K&M, liquidation of potential
witnesses for possible Hague indictments against Albanian terrorists and
elimination of political opponents and their collaborators.
Activities of the groups
called "Ideali", "Skifteri", "BIA", "Kashtjela", "Large Eagles", "Black
Hand", "Eagle‘s Eye", "Black Eagles", "Black Tigers", "Zjari",
"Akatana", "Siguria Vendit", "Homeland Security", "National Flag" etc.
were particularly prominent.
2. Characteristics of
ANA activities
In an effort to become the
so-called umbrella organization of all Albanian terrorist and separatist
groups in the region, ANA intensified its armed activities in 2003 which
were accompanied by strong media coverage. The organization was founded
in late 1999, but became more prominent in the second half of 2001.
In the course of disarmament
of NLA in FYROM, the membership of which included also former members of
KLA and LAPMB, the disarmament process was undermined at the very
beginning by a mass transfer of the members of this organization to the
ranks of the newly founded ANA without any administrative procedure
whatsoever, by simple change of the badge on the uniform. In this way,
Albanian terrorist continued their activities without any risk of
sanctions by the international community that had pronounced NLA a
terrorist organization, which was not the case with ANA.
ANA terrorists observe and
monitor the movements and activities of the police forces and the army,
set up headquarters, supply weapons for their actions and store them in
special bases; they mobilize and train their members and provide for
their transport to the site of action as well as their withdrawal to the
safe territory.
From the organizational point of view, ANA
is a military arm of a more comprehensive political group called the
Front for National Unity of Albanians (FNUA) which also includes an
intelligence service, called Albanian National Security (ANS), and
Albanian National Fund (ANF) as the central financial body.
FNUA was founded by the
Revolutionary Party of Albanians of Tirana, whose sister party in K&M is
a highly extremist UNICOMB (the Party of National Unity). Gafurr Adili,
who uses an alias of Valdet Vardari, born in Kičevo, FYROM, is the FNUA
president, while Idajet Beqiri, aka Alban Vjosa, who is the political
secretary of FNUA of Albania, was a member of the Central Committee of
the Labor Party, which was the only party in communist Albania at the
time. The leadership of FNUA also includes several people from Albania,
among
them some academicians and public figures.
Following a territorial
principle, ANA is organized into "divisions" with command centers.
So-called "Adem Jashari" division, with the seat in Gnjilane, has the
mandate over the region of K&M and south of Serbia. In West FYROM, i.e.
Ilirida, the "Skenderbeu" division is active, with command centers in
Debar and Tetovo. Their commander uses an alias, Idriz Iljaku. The "Mallesia"
division covers the region of the same name in Montenegro, with the
command center located in Ulcinj and directly linked to the headquarters
in Skadar, while "Çameria" division is in charge of the activities in
the south Albania and in the north of Greece (map 5).
General Vigan Gradica is the
ANA commander-in-chief, while Ekrem Asllani is the chief of staff. ANA
leaders, most of them re-activated commanders of KLA, LAPMB and NLA, use
the aliases of Ilir Vardari, Korab Hoxha and Valon Flamuri. Some retired
or former officers of the Albanian Army also work for the ANA
headquarters.
Strategically and
tactically, ANA prefers and pursues a guerilla style combat, with rapid
attacks on the military and police formations in the regions of Preševo,
Bujanovac and Medvedja, as well as on the territory of the FYRepublic of
Macedonia, with combat participants retreating to their logistics base
in Kosovo and Metohija, operating with the participation of some members
of KPC. ANA arouses provocations and organizes attacks on the territory
of K&M in order to urge Serbs to move out and discourage their organized
return. In the foreseeable future, pursuant to the well-known scenario
used in the south of Serbia and FYROM, this organization plans an
expansion of armed conflicts to the territory of Montenegro as well as
to the north of Greece, with the final objective of a unification of the
territories they believe are historically theirs.
Operational forces of
ANA in K&M and in the south of Serbia are composed of about 650
terrorists, most of them situated in the region of Kosovska Kamenica and
Gnjilane where their permanent training camps are located.
ANA members are equipped with light
infantry weapons, hand-held rocket launchers, light portable
anti-aircraft defense systems and are trained in the use of mines and
explosives, as well as the electronic equipment.
Parts of the terrorist
organization are distributed all over Europe, since ANA has branches in
many countries with the main task of raising the funds necessary to
finance their operations, through ANF, with the seat in Zurich.
Transactions take place on the Tirana – Debar – Priština route. Money is
collected from the diaspora to the accounts of Daut Zuri in Vienna and
the Karavan company in Tirana, owned by a Saudi businessman Jashin Kadi.
The money from Saudi Arabia for the Karavan company is laundered in the
construction companies "Mak Albania" and "Cement Albania", owned by
Abdul Latif Sala. The money is, subsequently, paid in the "Dardania"
bank in Tirana, owned by Bujar Bukoshi. Ismet Krueziu, arrested by
international forces in August 2002, used to transfer the money to K&M.
His activities were connected with "Jeta", an Islamic non-governmental
organization funded by the Islamic Bank for Development in Tirana.
Procurement of arms and
equipment for ANA is conducted by KPC, while the purchase itself is
efected through some companies registered in Europe. Before his arrest,
Daut Haradinaj, the former commander of "Dukadjin" territorial group,
was the chief coordinator of these activities.
The action of mining
the railroad bridge near Zvečan which was carried out in April 2003,
showed that a certain number of KPC members were engaged in ANA.
After the action, ANA was pronounced
a terrorist organization by Michael Steiner and its operations were
banned on the territory of K&M. The appearance of ANA members in the
villages reminds one of the presence of KLA members in 1996 and 1997
when they used intimidation and later even liquidations to force
Albanian population to join them in greater numbers.
Thus, in March 2003, members
of ANA perpetrated a typical criminal execution when they murdered Adem
Ahmeti, from the village of Prekaze, the Municipality of Srbica, and
then attacked the family of Ramiz Fejzaj, from the village of Radavac,
the Municipality of Peć, who was seriously wounded. This action was
preceded by a written warning sent to Fejzaj to be loyal to the
"national issue" and stop all contacts with the Serbs.
ANA publicly proclaims its
connections with organized crime, as illustrated by the fact that after
a bombing attack on the premises of the court in Struga, in early spring
2003, this terrorist organization undertook the responsibility for the
attack stating it was a reaction to the arrest of two Albanian mafia
bosses in FYROM.
3. Data on the victims
of violence in K&M
Violence in K&M is inspired
by ethnic, political and economic motives. The most numerous and the
most savage in the execution were the attacks of the Albanians on the
Serbs and Montenegrins provoked by national hatred and carried out for
the purpose of ethnic cleansing. Obviously, a large number of these
crimes were premeditated and the investigation results frequently point
to the involvement of KLA, or ANA now. Nevertheless, very few
perpetrators were discovered, as substantiated in the reports of OECD
representatives in Priština.
From the time of the arrival
of international forces to K&M through August 23rd 2003,
Albanian terrorist perpetrated the total of 6,571 attacks, out of which
5,962 on Serbs in Montenegrins in Preševo, Bujanovac and Medvedja, 207
on Albanians and 335 on people of other ethnic origins. In the same
period, 1,206 persons were killed and, 1,319 civilians and 15 policemen
were wounded. The fate of 846 persons, out of 1,156 kidnapped persons,
is not known.
In the attacks in 2003,
Albanian terrorists carried out 338 terrorist attacks (299 on the Serbs
and Montenegrins, 34 on Albanians and 5 on people from other ethnic
groups), a Serb was kidnapped (and subsequently murdered) and two
Albanians (one managed to escape, while the whereabouts of the other are
not known). An increasing number of murdered Albanian nationals,
witnesses or potential witnesses against the accused members of KLA, is
particularly frustrating.
The victims of these
mafia-like crimes include Azem Musaj and Sadri Rexhaj, while Ilir
Berisha of Janjevo, Rexhep Kelmendi of Peć, Sejdi Maloku of Obilić and
others were also victims of these attacks.
Between July 20th and 26th
2003, as a retaliation for the sentences passed on a number of members
of these groups of terrorists, explosive devices were thrown or planted
at several locations in Priština, Podujevo, southern part of Kosovska
Mitrovica, Lipljan, Kosovo Polje and other places. The targets of these
attacks, among others, were the homes of Ibrahim Rugova and Nexhat Daci,
leaders of DPK, whose prominent members have already been the targets of
retributions with political background.
The existing rivalry between
AFRK as a formation of professional soldiers and heterogeneous,
criminalized KLA groups, i.e. ANA, as they call themselves now, is the
underlying reason for a substantial number of the so-called political
assassinations. Also, prominent members of DPK usually fall victims of
these attacks.
4. Organized crime
-
Criminal activities in K&M
The expansion of organized crime in K&M is
a direct consequence of the KLA terrorist activities, some of whose
leaders have used their authority in this organization to establish
control over illegal trade in the areas under their (para)military
jurisdiction.
Beside the drug trafficking, the
organized criminal groups from K&M are also engaged in the illegal
trafficking of weapons, cigarettes and other excise goods, stolen
vehicles, together with the trafficking of people and human organs
trade.
Very common among the
Albanian organized crime activities are racketeering, blackmail and
violence against both the members of the Albanian community in K&M and
the Albanian migrant workers abroad who are forced to pay the so-called
taxes to finance terrorist groups in this region.
Intimidation and the expulsion of
the Serbs and other non-Albanian population from K&M also appear to be
an easy source of income as the sales of abandoned apartments and other
real-estate generate huge profits to some families. Former leaders of
KLA use some of the money made in this way to pay the arms suppliers and
to provide for the salaries of "meritorious" soldiers and their
families.
Confirming the fact that the
Albanian criminals have also held the key roles in the organized crime
activities in many European countries, especially in connection with the
sale of drugs, the representatives of the Council of Europe have stated,
in their 2000 Report, that the organized crime in K&M is connected with
the former members of KLA and the criminals from the north of Albania.
The findings of European officials show that, beside the previously
described criminal activities, the trafficking in human beings,
intimidation of the members of the police and the judiciary and
ethnically motivated violence are also represented in K&M, where ethnic
cleansing is considered a lucrative business. Out of the 28 murders
committed in January 2000, 25% are in connection with organized crime,
and a highly disturbing fact is that among the perpetrators of the
crimes, including those that are ethnically motivated, there is a
growing number of juveniles.
The representatives of the
Council of Europe pointed to corruption and its strong ties to organized
crime, money laundering, economic criminal acts and the inefficiency of
the financial institutions and tax policy as the key issues that
troubled K&M. In addition to that, the courts are under-equipped, the
number of judges and prosecutors is still small, their salaries are
inadequate to maintain their independence, their safety cannot be
guaranteed and therefore, they are under great pressure, so they can
work efficiently only in those cases that are not connected with ethnic
or political issues.
In 2000, the western media
described K&M as "a gangsters paradise", that is, as a territory the
western leaders ever more often perceive as a base for organized crime,
especially the drug trade.
Most criminal activities in
K&M are conducted by members of the family clans ("fis") who control
their respective territories. The clans are connected and closely
cooperate with similar criminal groups from other European countries,
especially from Turkey, Albania and Bulgaria, due to the fact that the
main smuggling routes run through these countries.
The family structure is
characterized by a strong inner discipline, which is achieved by a means
of punishment for every deviation from the internal rules, so that the
fear should guarantee an unconditional loyalty to the clan, with the
provisions of the official laws considered to be secondary, not
important and non-binding. Due to the fact that the clans are based on
the blood ties, which is a factor that restricts the number of the clan
members, the bonds between them are very strong, which makes getting
close to and infiltrating into them almost impossible. Members of other
ethnic groups can be accepted only to execute certain one time or
secondary jobs. Moreover, the Albanian mafia families are organized in
3-4 or more levels, which enables them to preserve the organizational
action capability even in case some of its members or groups is
captured.
Most members of the criminal
groups in K&M have been active in the ranks of KLA and other Albanian
terrorist organizations, where they have been trained for the armed
combat. Furthermore, they are known for the great flexibility when
making arrangements with other, similar organizations (be they domestic
or foreign), strong connections with local politicians and members of
certain government agencies (the Customs, KPC and KPS), and their
readiness and capability to perform complex operations across national
borders due to the fact that they have strong support of the Albanian
emigration community which is concentrated around different
organizations and societies in Europe and the USA.
With regards to
organized crime, the territory of K&M is divided into three main spheres
of interest: the regions of Drenica, Dukadjin and Lab where criminal
activity is controlled by certain leaders of the former KLA who are now
active in political structures, as well as by former close associates of
KLA who had financed its operations
(maps 6, 7 and 8).
The area of Drenica, located
on the strategic routes which connect Montenegro with FYROM, through
Prizren, Klina and Istok, towards Kosovska Mitrovica, in the region of
Shalja, is controlled by so-called Drenica group, loyal to Hashim Thaqi.
This group is mainly involved in arms trafficking, dealing in stolen
vehicles, in human beings, excise goods and, above all, cigarettes and
fuel. Through his family connections, Thaqi has direct control over the
local institutions through which he provides and secures an unhindered
performance of the said criminal activity. The Thaqi family has ties
with the
Albanian, Macedonian,
Bulgarian and Check mafia.
The territories of the Peć,
Dečani and Djakovica municipalities make the Dukadjin zone, where the
so-called Metohija group, led by Ramush Haradinaj, is active. The
Haradinaj family is mainly oriented toward the illegal trade of weapons,
drugs, excise goods and stolen cars, but also toward the racketeering of
the Albanian population in K&M. Smuggled goods are distributed in FYROM,
in the south of Serbia, the Raška territory and in Montenegro where it
comes via the Peć-Kula-Rožaje route. Taking into consideration the close
links between Ramush Haradinaj and the fighters of the former KLA, who
joined KPC and KPS after it had been demilitarized, Ramush Haradinaj is
in the position to have an indirect control over the border with these
areas, as well as over the criminal and terrorist activities in this
area.
The group loyal to Rrustem
Mustafa, aka "Remi", one of the most influential commanders of KLA and
KPC, operates in the Lab area which is made up of the territories of the
Gnjilane, Vitina and Kačanik municipalities.
This clan is mainly oriented toward drug smuggling and is closely
connected to the Haradinaj family.
In K&M there are also other
families whose operations are oriented toward illegal trade and
smuggling and who conduct the described activities in cooperation with,
or under the supervision of, one of the listed chiefs – Thaqi, Haradinaj
or Mustafa.
The Lluca family is
connected with the Albanian mafia and pursues the activity of arms
smuggling, of drugs and of excise goods (cigarettes, fuel). It operates
under the wing of Hashim Thaqi and Ramush Haradinaj and of the Albanian
mafia.
The Selimi family, together
with the Lluca family, controls the smuggling of arms, drugs and
vehicles in the Dukadjin area. Also they impose illegal taxation on the
Albanians and intimidate the political opponents of DPK. They are
connected with Hashim Thaqi.
The Kelmendi family has
close ties with Ramush Haradinaj and controls the smuggling of drugs and
fuel, trafficking in people and money laundering in the Peć area.
The Elshani family
operations are focused on the smuggling of arms and fuel. It controls
the Vitomirica area and is connected with Ekrem Lluca and Xhavit Haliti.
The Kitaj family is the
leading criminal group which controls the area between Klina and Istok.
It is involved in the smuggling of stolen vehicles and the sales of
explosives in K&M.
The criminal clan of Suma
operates in the area of Kačanik. Besides racketeering and blackmail, it
is also involved in weapons and drugs smuggling from FYROM to K&M and
vice versa. The members of the Suma clan are connected with the group
led by Rrustem Mustafa alias "Remi" from Podujevo. The Syla clan
coordinates a chain of organized crime active in K&M and FYROM and is
concentrated on illegal imports of weapons, ammunition and other
equipment.
The members of the Agushi
family operate in the Klina area. They extort money from the Albanians
whom they force to buy up previously stolen Serbian land and property in
the previously mentioned Municipality and blackmail potential buyers.
The Geci clan is active in
the Peć, Kosovska Mitrovica, Srbica and Priština municipalities. It runs
the smuggling of fuel and is cooperating with Xhavit Haliti and the
Selimi family.
The Babalija clan is
operating in the area of Đakovica. In cooperation with Ramush Haradinaj
it deals in fuel smuggling from Albania as well as in drugs trafficking
(map 2).
Despite the fact that there has been a
precise division of territory between the clans in which each family
controls a certain area and the criminal activity within it, among some
of the clans there is a rivalry whose origins lie in the political
differences between them and the attempts of the groups to acquire more
power in the respective region. Sometimes these clashes are so intense
that they take on the form of a blood feud (vendetta) in which all
members of the rival families are involved. A good example is the
dispute between the clans Musaj and Haradinaj. This feud, caused by
political differences and an attempt of the Musaj clan to take over the
arms and narcotics trafficking business from the Haradinaj clan,
resulted in the murder of Sinan Musaj, and, shortly afterwards, in the
wounding of Ramush Haradinaj.36
The execution of the members of the
Kelmendi family by the Lluca clan shows the brutality which is inherent
to the conflicts between the warring mafia clans. In that particular
case, a woman was killed among others, what is not common in the
conflicts between different Albanian groups, including vendettas.
The illegal drug trade,
carried out on the K&M territory, grew as a part of the overall growth
of the Balkan drug trafficking operations. This was a result of the lack
of strong government institutions (the police and the judiciary) that
would stop the infiltration and cut the drug routes, the existance of a
legal vacuum created in the period between the arrival of the
multinational forces and the establishment of a new legal system by the
UNMIK administration, a control of the borders, rugged terrain and the
poor economy that, all together, made the K&M an ideal place for the
drug trade.
One of the channels
through which drugs are transported from Turkey to Italy and then to
Western Europe goes through Tropoja and the ports of Durachio and Valona
in Albania.
Certain amounts of heroin and
cocaine are processed in the Albanian laboratories and from there they
are transported to the village of Lužane, then to Muhovac and Veliki
Trnovac in the south of Serbia, and to Montenegro, that is, to Tuzi and
Ulcinj, whence they are distributed all over Europe. Unprocessed drugs
from Albania end up in the region around Gnjilane and Prizren where
there are two large laboratories for the production of socalled hard
drugs (map 9).
The transfer of drugs is
conducted over the official border crossings such as Djeneral Janković,
Jazince, Qafa Prushit, Morina and Tropoja, thanks to the cooperation
between the criminal groups and the customs officials, and the members
of KPC and KPS. The arms which come from Albania are usually sold on the
black markets in Junik and Djakovica.
Because of the geographical
links between the regions of Kosovska Mitrovica and Peć with Serbia and
Montenegro this area represents the main transit route for illegal
trafficking in cigarettes. One of the frequently used routes for this
activity follows the line: Northern Kosovska Mitrovica – the village of
Brnjak, Zubin Potok Municipality – lake Tabalije – the village of
Starčevać – Ribarići – Novi Pazar – Kraljevo – Kragujevac – Trstenik.
-
Activities of the Albanian mafia around the world
Up to the beginning of the
armed conflicts in former Yugoslavia, most of the European market and a
smaller part of the USA market have been supplied with narcotics
smuggled via the so-called Balkan route. From the countries of origin
(Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan) and Turkey, where the raw materials for
the narcotics were processed, this road led through Greece, Bulgaria,
former Yugoslav republics (Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia), Romania, Hungary,
the Czech Republic and Slovakia, all the way to the final destinations
in Austria, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and other Western European
countries (map 10).
When fighting erupted
in this area, Albanian mafia created new routes for the drug trafficking
towards Western Europe, avoiding the conflict regions. In that way, two
new, alternative routes were created: the southern one going from
Turkey, through Bulgaria, FYROM, K&M and Albania to Italy and other
Western European countries.
The second, the northern one, goes
from Turkey, through Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary to the Czech
Republic, Slovakia and the Western European nations
(map 11).
When the conflicts in
Yugoslavia ended, the old Balkan route was re-established all over
again, but the new channels for smuggling the drugs did not disappear
and the smuggling network was greatly expanded. All American agencies
fighting against the drug trade estimate that, along with the Turkish,
the criminal groups of the Kosovo Albanians are the most important drug
smugglers in Europe.
These groups have been described by
experts as extremely violent and involved, also, in the international
arms trade, with more and more substantial evidence of their criminal
activity in the USA.
The fact that as early as
the mid-80s members of the criminal groups were highly organized and
represented a serious threats to the representatives of the judiciary
who were prosecuting them testifies to the strength of the Albanian
mafia in the USA. At that time the American police stated that the
members of the Albanian mafia were involved in all kinds of criminal
activities (extortions, robberies, arms trafficking, shootings, running
of illegal gambling operations in certain parts of New York etc.)
The main criminal activity
of the Albanians in the USA was drug trafficking, and the American
experts for fighting this type of crime had even then issued a warning
that, in only a few years, these criminal groups could take over 25% to
40% of American heroin market.
From the mid-90s, Albanian
criminals from the USA were helping the activities of KLA in K&M by
raising funds to purchase the weapons needed by this terrorist
organization. At first, the fundraising was conducted secretly and later
a branch of the "Fatherland Calls" (Zeri e atdheut) fund was also
established in the USA to channel financial support to the members of
KLA through the bank accounts in the USA and Canada and many other
Western European countries. In addition, money was being transferred
directly through emigrants – couriers, who came to K&M.
Together with the collection
of the money, Albanian emigrants in the USA organized shipments of
humanitarian aid and weapons and sent volunteers to joined the units of
KLA in K&M.
American intelligence
sources warned of the possibility of the "Columbian Syndrome" developing
in the Balkans which means that the Albanian mafia could become strong
enough to take over the control of one or more areas in which the
Albanian population is predominant. At the time it was noted that, in
the political arena, the effect was already accomplished by directing
the profits from the narco-terrorism to the local governments and
political parties. The Democratic Party of Albania (DPA - PDSh), in
power at the time, was suspected of tolerating and directly profiting
from the drug trade and financing secessionist political parties and
other groups in K&M and Macedonia.
The Party for Democratic
Prosperity (PDP - PPD) and other Albanian parties from FYROM, such as
the ultra nationalist National Democratic Party (NDP - PKD), together
with the Albanian parties from K&M have been accused of using
"laundered" money generated through narco-terrorism. In all three cases,
money made through crime was often disguised as emigrant donations, with
the estimate that the profit from narco-terrorism directed to the south
of the Balkans in 1993 had reached the sum of 1 billion dollars. The
same sources claimed that, in addition to the purchase of mafia
"protection", this money was being used for achieving popularity among
the people, through alleged patriotism, but also for other criminal
activities, above all for the purchase of guns.
On the continent of Europe,
the Albanians from K&M hold more than 80% of the heroine trade, their
dealers are located in at least half the European countries and they
smuggle 4 to 6 tons of heroin monthly amounting to two billion US
dollars a year. The Interpol data show that in 1999 the Albanian mafia
earned 38 million dollars from the drug trade, in 2001 fifty and in 2002
seventy million US dollars. The Interpol statistics also shows that
during 1997 out of all arrested heroin smugglers, Albanians accounted
for 14%, but that the average amount of heroin found on non-Albanian
dealers was 2 grams, while the Albanians were found in the possession of
120 grams on the average.
Profits of the Albanian drug
lords reach the amount of one billion USD, with the turnover in K&M
amounting to USD 125 to 150 million, of which KPC receives USD 25
million. Hashim Thaqi receives USD 5 million as his share. Out of the
total amount of drugs that enter the global market, as much as 65%
crosses the K&M territory, while 90% of the heroin distributed in the
European market is smuggled through this region.
The Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA) recognized Albanians in K&M as the second most
important drug traffickers in the world market.
The French Geopolitical Drug
Observatory published a report containing evidence that the Albanian
drug lords were crucial players in the widespread operations called
"drugs for weapons", while several Albanian dealers arrested in Western
Europe confessed to have procured the arms for KLA in K&M.
This kind of trade was also confirmed by the European Union, at the
meeting held in 1994 in Brussels.
German anti-drug agents
underline the fact that Albanians have organized one of the largest
organizations for drug trafficking in Europe and that the profits
generated by the illicit trade are laundered in 200 private banks and
exchange offices. Representatives of the Italian police state that the
Albanian mafia in the country, due to their violence and numerous
membership, has managed to suppress Turkish drug traffickers and become
a partner to several Italian mafia organizations, including Cosa Nostra,
Camora di Napoli, Ndrangheta di Calabria and Sacra Corona Unita in the
region of Puglia. Besides, the Albanian traffickers have soon progressed
from the status of couriers to that of the organizers of contraband
networks who, in their turn, now hire couriers from the ranks of
criminals of other nationalities.
The seat of activities of
Albanian drug lords is in Calabria, Italy, while Milan is the main
business center. The major lords of these organizations invest their
illegally acquired assets into beauty parlor chains and shops not only
in Italy, but also in Great Britain and other Western European
countries. In addition to the drug trafficking, Albanian criminals in
Italy are also involved in prostitution, racketeering, widely spread
arms deals, as well as in the organization of begging and pick pocketing
for which, with permanent abuse and intimidation, they use the children
purchased from their parents in Albania at the price of USD 1,000 per
child.
In the Ticino canton, on the
border between Italy and Switzerland, it is the Albanians who are in
total control of the smuggling of drugs and people. In 1995, some 2,000
Albanians charged with drug trafficking were incarcerated in the Swiss
penitentiary institutions. According to the reports of the Swiss police,
the proceeds of the illicit trade were used for the procurement of
"Kalashnikovs" (AK-47) and "Uzis" (Israel-manufactured sub-machine guns)
in Bern and Berlin.
In March 1992, a
representative of the Swedish Police Intelligence Service confirmed that
this Service believes there are connections between drug trafficking and
KLA. Based on an analysis conducted in 1998 by officials of the Swedish
and Norwegian Security Forces in relation to the heroin seized in the
last two years, it was evident that Albanians accounted for 80% of the
drugs traded, with the proceeds used for the procurement of arms for
KLA. In 1999 the Police in Bratislava and Budapest discovered warehouses
for thousands of kilos of heroin. Besides, larger quantities of pure
cocaine were also seized by the police from the Albanian traffickers.
In June 1998 over 50
Albanians from K&M were arrested in Spain, involved in almost 1,000
robberies and laundering operations for the money obtained from
robberies on the territory of Germany. Several days later, a group of 70
Albanians was also arrested under suspicion of drug trafficking, money
laundering, robberies and possession of forged documents.
In 1998, a Greek
representative in Interpol filed a report stating that Albanians from
K&M represented the main source of cocaine and heroin supply in illegal
markets of the world. Besides, in the course of 2000, Interpol received
information suggesting that in FYROM, along the FYROM-Greek border,
synthetic drugs were manufactured, while in Albania cannabis was
produced for the Greek market, with the Albanian criminals collaborating
with the Greek ones in the organization of the drug shipment to Greece.
In a joint action of Italian and FYROM police, conducted in 1993 and
1994, a group of drug dealers was discovered in Skopje, when 42 kg of
pure heroin was seized. Also, it was stressed that this amount was only
a small part of the total quantity of heroin that Albanian smugglers
ship via FYRM.
In 2002, representatives of
the Czech security forces announced that Albanian organized crime had
started their activities in the drug trade and trafficking in human
beings in this country in the early 90‘s. According to their reports,
Albanians from K&M were quick to establish contacts with the local
politicians, civil servants and police officials who, because of their
meager wages, were easily corrupted and provided them with the working
and permanent residence permits. Besides, Albanian started purchasing
real estate along the borders with Austria and Germany and establishing
catering facilities some of which were later transformed into brothels
and also used, during armed conflicts in K&M, as transit points for
smuggling arms and ammunitions for KLA.
In 1995, representatives of
the Czech police in Prague stated that the Albanians had managed to make
the Czech Republic one of the target destinations for heroin trade and
to flood the country with the drug. In March 1999, the Czech police
arrested one of the drug lords, Prince Dobroshi, who appeared to have
been present at the celebration organized in Prague on the occasion of
an outstanding award presented to Ibrahim Rugova. The search of
Dobroshi‘s apartment resulted in the discovery of papers confirming the
procurement of the arms for KLA.
In the trafficking in human
beings, Albanians have a complete control over the transfer via the
Balkans to Greece, using the same routes used for drug trafficking into
the country. Albanian mafia has established strong connections with
Turkish, African and Italian criminals for all operations related to
illegal immigrants who are occasionally used as couriers for drug
transport. In addition to the Albanian nationals and the Albanians from
K&M, migrants from Turkey, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, China and other
countries are recruited for the purpose.
Albanian groups are mainly
responsible for the shipment of illegal immigrants from the Albanian
coast, across the Adriatic Sea, to Italy. They usually set off in
Vljora, or from Durs or even Ulcinj, in the south of Montenegro. In 1999
as many as 10,000 persons were smuggled into the EU countries via
Albania. Smuggling illegal migrants is an important source of revenue
for Albanian criminal groups, although it cannot be compared with the
drug trafficking which, it is believed, earned them USD 50 million in
1999.
At any moment about 4
million illegal immigrants are on the move. On a global scale, the 1999
earnings of individuals and the trafficking networks was estimated at
USD 3 – 10 billion. Interpol has unequivocal indications on the
involvement of organized crime in each segment of the travel of illegal
migrants. Recently, Albanian have revived the trade in stolen cars and
have re-established the networks for their transport from Italy,
Switzerland, Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland to K&M, whence some
of them are sent further.
According to Interpol
reports, trafficking in women and enforced prostitution have become
important for the Albanian mafia in 1999 when thousands of women left
K&M and went to Albania because of armed conflicts in the region. The
Albanian prostitution networks increasingly involve women of other
nationalities, such as women from Romania, Moldova, the Russian
Federation, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other countries. The pimps
usually state that they originate from K&M in order to obtain the status
of political refugees although actually most of them come from Albania
and not from K&M. Some Albanians control these operations from abroad,
where Belgium is the seat of some of the bosses of this activity (map
12).
Representatives of the
Council of Europe believe that the rise of prostitution in K&M resulted,
among other things, from the presence of a large number of international
troops and civilians in the region. According to the reports of the
International Organization for Migrations (IOM), thousands of women and
girls from Eastern Europe are taken by force and brought to K&M for
sexual exploitation and forced prostitution. Besides, trafficking in
women takes place within K&M as well as from it.
- Influence of
criminal factors from the Republic of Albania.
Albania is the largest money
laundering and drug trafficking center in the Balkans. The proceeds
generated from the drug trade were channeled through the pyramidal
savings schemes, the breakdown of which led to the drastic political
unrest in that country in 1997. The ensuing anarchy in the country made
it possible for the Albanian drug mafia to develop their operations to
an unprecedented level.
The link of terrorism and
organized crime in K&M was established under the strong influence of
certain political factors in the Republic of Albania, suspected of
corruption and connections with criminal organizations. It is important
not to overlook the fact that KLA expansion coincided with the rule of
Sali Berisha who is believed to be "tolerant" to drug trafficking, more
so since DPA maintains close links with Hashim Thaqi even now.
Groups dealing in organized
crime in the Republic of Albania have a significant influence on the
decisions made by the government and by political parties. In the town
of Skadar and its surroundings, paramilitary organizations of Albanian
drug lords and arms dealers have better and more modern equipment than
the Albanian Army. Mafia groups frequently assist individuals to get to
power, but once they are at the position of power, they have to "pay the
debt", so that mafia groups can control operations of the governmental
bodies, primarily the police, in order to maintain their privileged
status.
In addition to the strongest
and most dangerous mafia clan known as Kula, which controls a part of
the drug trade from Turkey and deals with trafficking in arms and
illegal immigrants to Italy, the Abazi family is also engaged in the
trafficking in drugs and arms, while the Borici clan works together with
the Italian criminal gangs engaged in illegal drug trade and in
prostitution. The Brokaj group, engaged in drug and arms trafficking, as
well as in prostitution, is particularly interesting since its
membership is composed of former Sigurimi Secret Service officials.
In this region several other
organized groups are active, like: Halkaj, Kerkiku, Caushi, Shehu,
Kakami and Hasani.
Although the former communist regime in the
Republic of Albania had also expressed territorial pretensions,
primarily toward the territory of K&M, the military activities of KLA
are openly supported by the Tirana government. During that period,
Albania was a logistics base for terrorists from K&M, as well as a busy
transit region for trafficking in arms, drugs and excise goods. During
the civil unrest in Albania in 1997, a large number of arms and
ammunition was taken out of the arsenals of the Albanian Army and
shipped, for the largest part, to FYROM and K&M.
The weapons originating from Albania
were usually sold at very low prices, at the black market of Junik and
Djakovica. Because of the easy accessibility of these weapons to the
general public, additional favorable conditions were created for both
the escalation of terrorism in this region and the development of all
forms of crime, including organized crime.
After the termination of
armed conflicts in K&M, as suggested by the officials of the Albanian
Ministry of the Interior, the most wanted criminals in their country
went to the territory of K&M in order to avoid arrest. Accordingly, a
large number of crimes perpetrated on the territory of K&M may be
attributed to the nationals of the Republic of Albania who are
frequently in conflict with the criminal gangs of K&M Albanians.
The conflict in Kosovo and
Metohija and the problems with the refugees in Albania, resulted in a
large inflow of financial aid from the West. Albanian organized crime,
with their connections with the official regime in Albania, greatly
profited from these sources estimated at about USD 163 million.
5. The Role of
Albanian Emigration
Albanian emigration in
Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Holland and the USA operated via a number
of illegal organizations of extremists recruiting Albanians and sending
them to K&M to join KLA, while some of them organized, on the territory
of their respective countries, the centers for military and terrorist
training of already recruited troops. Albanian emigration in
Switzerland, particularly the leading members of former KLA and NKM,
sponsored new activities of terrorist in the south of Serbia and in
FYROM.
Activities of Albanian emigration consists
of collecting of the large amounts of financial means necessary for the
procurement of arms and equipment to the terrorist groups. The moneys
are collected in an organized manner, by direct contributions, or by
payments for alleged humanitarian needs of the Albanian population.
The deposited amounts are
transferred, via selected banks or illegal channels, to Albania and K&M
and, in some cases, the money is carried by "couriers" which is
described as the "home visit". In the said countries, the members of
Albanian emigration were exposed to torture by the members of Albanian
mafia to ensure enforced collaboration and, in this way, support to
terrorism in K&M, the south of Serbia and in FYROM.
Interpol reports suggest
that a certain number of persons granted the status of refugees from K&M
in Western Europe or North America, were very carefully selected by the
Albanian mafia and directed to stay in the host country ready to become,
at some future date, the links with criminal activities. The power of
Albanian mafia is based on the obedience of the clans ("fis"). A group
of clans, up to 20, makes a mafia line, headed by a political leader.
Albanian mafia is not a pyramid with a "godfather" at the top, but a
series of pyramids with several "godfathers".
Through the said
humanitarian funds, the influential and financially powerful Albanian
mafia clans launder the money generated from drug trafficking and other
methods and activities of the mafia (blackmail, racketeering,
extortion). According to the Interpol data, KLA and other Albanian
groups use a sophisticated network of accounts and companies to forward
the money where necessary. In 1998 Germany froze two bank accounts
belonging to the "United Kosovo" organization after they had discovered
that an Albanian from K&M, convicted for drug trafficking, deposited
several hundreds of thousands of US dollars to the account.
The best known institution
for organized collection of money for the procurement of arms and
equipment for the terrorists in K&M is the "Fatherland Calls" fund
founded in December 1993. It was registered in Germany, within the
Albanian Democratic Community. Leaders of NKM and later of KLA were
among the founding fathers. The fund has branches in 12 European
countries and in the USA. The collected assets were used partly for
training, equipment, arms and hiring of foreign mercenaries for KLA and
partly for propaganda and hiring of lobbyists and influential groups in
the Western ruling circles.
In 1998, the obvious links
of the activities of the Fund with the sale of arms in K&M made the
governments of certain Western countries pass a decision putting a
temporary ban on its operation. Analytical investigations suggest that
Albanians in the diaspora transfer between USD 150 and 400 million to
K&M through this fund, as voluntary contributions, illegal income tax
and the proceeds from the drug deals. In an effort to collect as much
financial assets as possible from the Albanians in the diaspora, FNUA
opened branches of the Albanian National Fund in most Western European
cities, which fact pointed to their ambition to set up an Albanian Bank
of international reputation which would make it possible for the capital
of Albanian mafia to enter the regular financial transactions.
The role of the
Albanian lobby is of enormous importance for Albanian terrorists since
their emigration is composed of 1.8 million Albanians worldwide.
Rich and influential Albanians in
the USA and Western European countries tried, in addition to providing
them with financial support, to present KLA as a national movement,
presenting their terrorist activities as liberation struggle of the
Albanian people in K&M, which they succeeded to a substantial degree. In
this respect, they made a stronghold with some western politicians and
diplomats.
6. Pan-Islamic Factor
The presence of the radical
Islamic factor on the territory of K&M has been confirmed by an active
participation of mujahedins in the armed conflicts in Kosovo and
Metohija within KLA formations, as well as by the activities of various
Islamic humanitarian organizations. At the 16th Islamic Conference held
in Pakistan, in October 1998, Albanian separatism in K&M was defined as
jihad and the Islamic world was called to help with all available means
this "fight for freedom on the occupied Muslim territories". Referring
to jihad, the terrorist organization of Osama Bin Laden announced
terrorist attacks against the "infidels", i.e. Great Britain, the USA,
France, Israel, Russia, India and Serbia.
The presence of the radical
Islam in K&M is illustrated by the fact that in 1995 Osama Bin Laden
visited Albania as a guest of Sali Berisha, who was the President of
Albania at the time, when bases for the logistic and financial support
to the Al Khaida organization were set up, with cells in K&M. In
addition to Bin Laden, the meeting was attended by Bashkim Gazideda,
former head of secret police of Albania, Hashim Thaqi and Ramush
Haradinaj. On the occasion, Bashkim Gazideda was elected into a group of
Al Khaida leaders for the region of Balkan.
Senator Pat Roberts,
chairman of the Senate Security Commission, stated that the USA had
evidence on the connections of KLA with Osama Bin Laden, as well as on
the involvement of KLA members in illicit drug trade.
Intelligence circles in
Albania confirm a strong presence of Bin Laden‘s network in this
country, as well as the existence of their plans for attack on American
citizens and facilities. The same sources have confirmed the presence of
four groups of "Jihad Warriors" (from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Algiers,
Tunisia and the Sudan) in Northern Albania and the participation of
their members in the conflicts in K&M, as parts of KLA forces.
Fanatic Islamic fighters
from Afghanistan, Algiers, Egypt, Chechnya, Iran and other countries
were included into the command structures of KLA in K&M. In some
instances, these radically oriented and highly professionally trained
persons set up their independent units for special operations and
tactical assignments. They participated directly in the taking of the
territories and the cleaning-up operations, in kidnapping civilians and
members of the police forces, in brutal tortures and murders. They were
also hired as trainers for special training of some KLA formations.
In 1998, the State
Department placed KLA on the list of terrorist organizations,
substantiating it with the facts that KLA operations were sponsored by
the proceeds of international drug sale and the loans from Islamic
countries and individuals, among whom, apparently, was Osama Bin Laden
himself. According to the information supplied by Interpol, another link
with Bin Laden is the fact that Muhammed Al Zawahiri, a brother of Dr
Yaman Al Zawahiri, the leader of the organization of Egyptian Jihad and
an ideologist of Al Khaida, was the leader of an elite KLA unit in the
conflict in K&M.
In the region of Drenica, within KLA
forces, in the period May through late June 1998, a combined unit of
mujahedins, called "Abu Bekir Sidik" was operating, under the command of
Ekrem Avdi of Kosovska Mitrovica. Activities of the "Abu Bekir Sidik"
unit, that is, the procurement and illegal supply of arms were funded by
organizations from Zenica (B&H) called "Islamic Balkan Center" and
"Active Islamic Youth" (AIY).
The unit was comprised of 115
mujahedins, of whom about 40 were foreign nationals (10 from Saudi
Arabia, 2 from Egypt, 4 from Albania, 2 from England and one from
Ireland, Scotland each, while the rest were the citizens of FYROM and
B&H).
A large number of fighters in the
"Abu Bekir Sadik" of Albanian ethnic background returned to their places
of residence in K&M after the unit was disbanded, while some tried to
enter the territory of Albania.
On the occasion, in August
1998, the Security Forces of the Republic of Albania arrested Ekrem
Avdija, Shpend Kopriva and Nexhmedin Laush and, subsequently, other
members of the unit as well. Because of their terrorist activities, they
were sentenced to long-term imprisonment, but in 2001, the whole group
was pardoned under the pressure of international community. Soon after
his release form prison, Ekrem Avdija continued to lead the organization
named "Kosovo Islamic Bureau" that has, over a period of time, expanded
the scope of its activities by setting up numerous branches in all
larger towns of Kosovo and Metohija. Soon after that, he re-activated a
group of mujahedins under the same name, "Abu Bekir Sidik", with the
seat in the southern part of Kosovska Mitrovica.
In addition to all this, the
activities of NLA in Macedonia were supported by direct participation of
about 150 mujahedins from Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Bosnia and
Herzegovina and Turkey, as well as from Albania, FYROM and K&M who had
previously lived in some other Arabian countries where they had been
trained. The substantiating data were obtained at the time of the arrest
of Sedula Morati, a member of the "Ismet Jashari" unit that operated in
the regions of Kumanovo and Lipkovo. The transfer of the mujahedins to
the territory of Macedonia was organized by Daut Haradinaj, in addition
to others.
Under the pretext of
humanitarian activities, the "Albanian-Haramain" organization with the
seat in Prizren transports weapons illegally, participates in the
training and sponsoring terrorists and provides logistic support to
Albanian extremists in K&M and FYROM. Most of the funds used to sponsor
this organization come from Saudi Arabia.
"The United Saudi Aid for
Kosovo" is an organization that provides arms for ANA membership. Eleven
members of this organization were arrested by KFOR because of their
connections with the international terrorist organization known as Al
Khaida. "The Global Relief Foundation" is a nongovernmental organization
with the fund of about one million US dollars, sponsored by Islamic
countries. The head of the K&M office and two other activists were
arrested by KFOR under suspicion of terrorist activities.
Some representatives of the
humanitarian organization "El-Yila" represent the main link between
Islamic countries and terrorist in the south Serbia, K&M and FYROM and
are engaged in the recruitment and transfer of terrorists to K&M and the
south of Serbia.
Abu Muhamed and Yamel
Lamprani, aka "Abu Musab", who was, during the armed conflicts in Kosovo
and Metohija, one of the trainers of "Abu Bekir Sidik" unit, are the
respective heads of branches of the humanitarian organization "Igasa" in
Skopje and Zagreb. Both of them used to study at the University of
Belgrade and, in early nineties, were arrested as members of a
religiousterrorist organization named "Islamic Salvation Front". This
organization, in collaboration with the Islamic resistance movement
called "Hamas", i.e. the radical wing of the organization called "The
Muslim Brothers" gathered students from the Sudan, Algiers, Palestine
and Egypt.
The assignments and tasks that used to be
carried out by a humanitarian organization known as "Islamic Relief"
were taken over by two Islamic organizations - "Humanitarian Islamic
Foundation" of Saudi Arabia and "Bin Laden‘s Flowers".
Over a longer time period, the
"Islamic Relief" recruited Albanian children without parents for
suicidal terrorist actions. The recruitment of children was carried out
in the Lion Hotel in Uroševac situated close to the premises of the
organization. After the USA attacked Iraq substantial fall of activities
in the organization ensued.
"It
is hard to prove the existence of organized crime in Kosovo, and even
harder not to see the evidence supporting it!"
(State Department Official)
"It
is hard to anticipate further development of Albanian organized crime.
Since it is a recent phenomenon, its stability cannot be estimated.
Nevertheless, future threats are real, having in mind mercilessness and
unscrupulousness characteristic of Albanian criminal groups, already
existing international connections, professionalism of their activities,
as well as strong connections established on the basis of their common,
ethnic Albanian origins. Additionally, strong positions of the Albanian
criminal groups in Kosovo and Metohija, Macedonia and Albania itself are
definitely the subject of concern
of international
community, particularly when geopolitical instability of the
region and the presence
of the UN peace-keeping forces are kept in mind".
(Interpol)
The list of terrorists
and members of the organized crime groups in K&M
(in alphabetical order)
which is, like the list of their crimes, incomplete.
1. HAJDIN (Isuf) ABAZI, alias "Lum Haxiu"
Born
on April 30th, 1959, in the village of Gadiš, Municipality of
Gnjilane. Over the years of his emigration in Switzerland and Sweden, he
was one of the most influential KLA members in Western Europe. Together
with Elmi Reqica, he was the main link between the said organization in
K&M and Albanian emigration and the KLA headquarters abroad. In this
capacity, he was in charge of collection of financial resources through
"The Homeland Calls" fund intended for KLA. In August 1998, the Swiss
Government blocked the account of the above-mentioned fund due to a
suspicion of its being used to finance terrorist activities in K&M. Out
of the country, he was particularly engaged in the recruitment and
illegal transfer of trained terrorist KLA groups via FYROM and Albanian
territories to K&M. In 1998, he was directly engaged in the
establishment of KLA crisis headquarters in the region of Uroševac.
Together with Emrush Xhemajli, he established and commanded KLA forces
in the region, as well as the detachments operating in Kačanik, under
direct command of Zaim Gabrica and Ismet Sadiku, former Yugoslav
National Army (YNA) officers. Together with his family members, he
participated in criminal activities in the region of Uroševac. Several
Albanians who attempted to resist their banditry, robbery and repression
were killed upon his order. Additionally, he was an organizer and
participant in a number of political assassinations of Albanians,
primarily members of DSK. From the position of the president of the
Municipality of Uroševac, he attempted to win over former KLA members
for his criminal activities. Due to conflicts with his associates in DPK,
in March 2003, he left K&M and is currently living in Sweden, in the
city of Malmö.
2. EKREM (Bajram) AVDIJA, alias "Abus Akej"
Born
on July 18th, 1971, in Kosovska Mitrovica After completion of
the Madrasa (Moslem religious school) in Priština, Avdija entered the
School of Theology in Medina, his scholarship paid by Saudi Arabia. He
participated in the armed conflicts in B&H. He completed military
training in the "Abu Bekir Sidak" recruitment teaching center of the
mujahedins, in Jablanica near Tešanj (B&H), as well as the training in
the "Host" campus in Afghanistan where he was learned to handle light
infantry arms and the military tactics skills. In the course of his stay
in B&H, Ekrem Avdiu was strongly influenced by Abdulah Duhajman, the
manager of the "Islamic Balkan Center" in Zenica, and by Adnan Pezo, the
president of the organization known as "Active Islamic Youth" (AIY) and,
on the basis of the instructions received, he established "Islamic
Bureau of Kosovo" in January 1998, with its head office in Kosovska
Mitrovica. The above-mentioned Bureau was used as a cover for the
transfer of the financial assets intended for ideological education and
recruitment of Moslems for the armed forces. Citizens of other Islamic
countries, i.e., Mujahedins who gained their war experience in B&H and
Afghanistan, were systematically transferred to K&M, mostly through
Albania. In May 1998, Avdia established a Mujahedin unit "Abu Bekir
Sidik". He appointed Shpendu Kopriva from Kosovska Mitrovica his deputy.
He cooperated with KLA leaders, Sami Lushtaku, Sulejman Selimi and Adem
Jashari, who supplied the "Abu Bekir Sidik" unit with arms and
ammunition and provided instructions for specific terrorist activities.
He was arrested together with Nexhmedin Llausha and Shpendu Kopriva in
August 1998 by the police officers of the Republic of Serbia, when he
attempted to cross illegally to the territory of Albania. A large
quantity of weapons, hand grenades, bazookas and other military
equipment was found with them, as well as a number of audio and video
tapes with propaganda messages, mostly calls to Jihad – the holy war
waged against non-Muslim population. Due to their terrorist actions,
they were sentenced to long-term imprisonment. However, the whole group
was granted amnesty in 2001 under the pressure of international
community. After his release from prison, Ekrem Avdija continued to lead
the "Islamic Bureau of Kosovo" which, in time, extended the scope of its
activities through the establishment of numerous branches in all major
towns in Kosovo and Metohija. He reactivated the "Abu Bekir Sidik" unit,
with the seat in the southern part of Kosovska Mitrovica, which was
joined by Shpendu Kopriva and Nexhmedin Llausha, as well as by Arif
Krasniqi, from the village of Sibovce, Municipality of Obilić.
3.
ALUSH (Sokol) AGUSHI, alias "Madjup", "Krhac", "Maljo" and "Dugme"
Born
on June 20th, 1959, in the village of Drenovac, Municipality of Klina.
As a member of the top KLA leadership in the Dukadjin zone of
operations, he participated in the forced mobilization of Albanian
population, the reception of weapons and the training of diversionary
terrorist groups in the region of Klina. He participated in the attacks
on the members of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs and YA (the
Army of Yugoslavia) forces (Jošanica, Biča, Grabac, Kijevo and Drenovac)
with the help of a large number of his family members. On August 11th,
1998, Radovan Simović, from the village of Drenovac, was killed in his
yard, while Vlado Stašić, from the village of Dugonjiva, was severely
injured. In the same year, he organized attacks resulting in the killing
of Oliver Zajić from the region of Klina, Grujica Šmigić, from the
village of Drsnik, Dragan Stepić and Dragiša Kizić, as well as a number
of members of the police force, while Desa Barović was injured in the
region of the village of Jošanica. Together with the top members of KLA
(Ramush Haradinaj, Lahi Ibrahimi and Idriz Balaj, alias "Toger"), Agushi
was one of the key executors of genocide and the terror over Serbs and
Albanians imprisoned in the village of Jablanica, Municipality of Klina.
There is evidence and witnesses of their direct engagement in the
kidnapping, torturing and liquidation of the prisoners kept in the
above-mentioned prisons, whose bodies were subsequently dumped in the
canal used for the filling of the Radonjić lake, as well as in a
deserted well on the road from Jablanica to Žabelj, Municipality of
Djakovica. Agushi was a commander of all other prisoner’s camps in the
region of Klina. Brothers Radomir and Drago Voštić, from the village of
Jelovac, Municipality of Klina, as well as Ivan Bulatović, member of the
Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs, were killed in the village of
Likovac, which was also under Agushi’s command. After the mass departure
of Serbs from Metohija, Agushi carried out a systematic and organized
destruction of their property and led the activities directed toward the
expulsion of the remaining Serbian population from the region. At the
same time, he organized the destruction of the Orthodox monuments and
churches in the region of the Municipality of Klina, in the villages of
Dolac, Drsnik, Petrac and Grebenik, as well as the desecration of the
graveyards in the villages of Drsnik, Drenovac, Dugonjive, Petrc,
Zajmovo, Dolovo, Grebnik, Klina, Vidanje, Jagoda and Dolac. After the
retreat of the Serbian forces from K&M, he ordered and executed the
kidnapping and murder of Milorad Dobrić, Milić Bogićević,
Božana and Vojislav Jovanović, from the village of Drenica, Municipality
of Klina. He is one of the leading participants in the criminal
activities in the region of Klina. Agushi extorts money from Albanian
criminal groups which, one way or other, usually by force, acquire
Serbian real estate and property, forcing them to pay him the
commission. He also murdered a number of Albanians who refused to give
him the money. He was appointed chief inspector in the Kosovo Protective
Corps (KPC) and he remained in contact with Sulejman Selimi, aka
"Sultan", and the top leaders of KPC (Redxhep Selimi, Jetulah Gecaj,
Gani Krasniqi – aka "Lumi" and Fatmir Limaj, indicted by the Hague
Tribunal.
4. RASIM (Hamid) AGUSHI
Born on July 17th, 1962, in
Drenovac, Municipality of Klina. He was a member of the General staff of
Dukadjin operational zone, i.e., the commander of the KLA 3rd
operational zone. He operated within the 131st Brigade "Mirta
Zineli”. At the moment, he the KPC commander in Peć. As a member of a
terrorist group, Agushi is responsible for more than 87 murders, 29
abductions, for the organization of the prisons located in the villages
of Glodjani, Belanica, Likovac and Jablanica, in the Municipality of Peć,
as well as for the rape and sexual harassment of a number of persons,
and for the destruction of property. Additionally, he also participated
in approximately 180 terrorist actions, including armed attacks on the
villages of Ljodja and Babaloć in the middle of 1998. He actively
participated in the forced expulsion of non-Albanian population from the
region of Djakovica, Peć and Dečani, and is responsible for setting fire
to the church in the village of Gornji Rasic. He was a direct
participant in the terrorist action against the village of Drenovac, as
well as in the armed attacks on the house of Jagoš Djuričić. Moreover,
he was an accomplice in the murder of Dragomir Stepić from Drenovac, and
of Milić Bogicević, Milorad Dobrić, Vojislav Jovanović and his wife, and
four Roms, committed in the village of Draganovac, Municipality of Klina
in 1999. He is accused of participation in the terrorist attacks on the
members of Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs in Klina, Municipality
of Peć, as well as of the attack on the police station in Klina.
5. NAZMI
(Adem) AJETI
Born
on April 22nd, 1972, in Podujevo. After the arrest of the members of
NPRK in K&M in 1993, Ajeti escaped from the country and fled to
Switzerland where he established contacts with NPOK members. In 1994 he
was sentenced, in absence, to 7 years of imprisonment. In 1998, after
his arrival from Switzerland, he joined KLA forces. He was engaged, by
Rustem Mustafa, in illegal supply of weapons and ammunition from
Albania, inside the Lab zone of operations. After the removal of the
Serbian forces from K&M, he formed a diversionary terrorist group,
called "Red Hand", for the purpose of ethnic cleansing of the Serbian
and Montenegrin population from the region of Podujevo. Together with
his above-mentioned brother, he joined the Liberation Army of Preševo,
Medvedja and Bujanovac (LAPMB) and, in March 2001, he participated in
the terrorist actions against the members of the Ministry of Internal
Affairs and on YA forces. He is a drug addict.
6.
HISNI (Izet) AHMETI, alias "His"
Born
on July 27th, 1972, in the village of Šupkovac, Municipality of Kosovska
Mitrovica. During the war in B&H, he was a member of the Muslim armed
forces. He is one of the key persons engaged in the organization of KLA
and its branches in the region of Kosovska Mitrovica, i.e., in the
establishment of the operational zone Shalja covering the regions of the
municipalities of Kosovska Mitrovica, Vučitrn, Obilić, Zubin Potok and
Leposavić, with several thousands of well armed terrorists. Early in
January 1999, he was appointed commander of the 141st KLA
brigade and participated in almost every attack on the members of the
Serbian Ministry of the Interior and on YA forces in the region. He was
engaged in fundraising, procurement of arms and in the military and
diversionary training. On June 24th, 1998, Ahmeti‘s terrorist group
carried out an attack on the Serbs in the village of Pantina and
kidnapped the married couple Čedomirka and Ratomir Miljković, whose fate
is still unknown. On January 22nd, 1999, the same group
kidnapped Miša Bigović, from the village of Nevoljane, from his
workplace in "Elektrodistribucija” (Power supply company) in Vučitrn, as
well as four members of Mialičković family, from Nevoljane, the same
Municipality. The kidnapped persons were transported to KLA general
staff in the village of Likovac, Municipality of Srbica, to be released
after several days after intervention of the OSCE observers. In May
1999, members of the third platoon of the special unit within the
operational zone of Shalja, killed 12 members of the Army of Yugoslavia,
as well as Miroslav Špiric, from Vučitrn, on the Kosovska Mitrovica–Vučitrn
road. The same group kidnapped Ljubomir Knežević, a correspondent of the
daily "Politika”, on the bridge over the Sitnica river, and killed him
after torturing him for days. In January 1999, together with Rahman Rama,
Hisni Ahmeti organized and carried out an attack on YA forces in the
region of Shalja, when 8 members of the military police were kidnapped.
In the course of negotiations with the OSCE representatives, carried out
in the region of Shalja, Rahman Rama refused to set the kidnapped
soldiers free. In June of the same year, he took illegally the control
over the distribution of oil derivatives in the region of Vučitrn and
Kosovska Mitrovica, over the gasoline stations owned by "Beopetrol” and
"Jugopetrol”. Since February 2000, these facilities have been under
UNMIK control. Following the establishment of the KPC, Rama was
appointed commander of the 4th Regional territorial group (RTG),
with its seat in Kosovska Mitrovica, with Hisni Ahmeti as his deputy.
7.
ABDULAH (Muharem) BABALIJA
Born
on May 22nd, 1967, in Djakovica. As a commander of the 137th
KLA brigade, Babalija was the organizer of the attacks on the members of
the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Municipalities of
Djakovica and Dečani, where several members of the police and military
forces were ambushed and killed. Among others, his group was in charge
of intimidating, kidnapping and killing the remaining Serbs, as well as
in charge of the destruction of their property in this region. Upon his
order, a number of Serbs were abducted and taken over into the terrorist
base in the village of Glodjani, where they were murdered after extended
torture and maltreatment. Five members of the Šutaković family from
Djakovica were among them. A group of terrorists led by him carried out
a number of attacks in the residential area of Čabrat, in Djakovica, in
1999, when several civilians and three police and YA members were
killed, while ten persons were more or less seriously injured. Moreover,
he is responsible for the mining and demolition of the Orthodox church
in the central part of the town of Djakovica. In order to achieve a
total control over the town, he organized "private" traffic police and a
guard in Djakovica, as well as bodyguards in public institutions and
companies (through the firms "Besa Security" and "K.P.S. Jaguara
Security"). Together with some members of the KPC, he was engaged in the
smuggling of weapons and in extortion. In 2002, Ramush Haradinaj
appointed him commander of the 332nd KPC brigade in Djakovica.
Soon after, he was transferred to Peć. There are some indications of his
personal conflict with Daut Haradinaj.
8.
MASAR (Ferhat) BAKIJA
Born
on February 18th, 1953, in Djakovica Joined the illegal paramilitary
organization of "National Front" in 1991. As a reserve officer and an
employee of the Territorial Defence in Djakovica, he was in charge of
the preparation of the plans, drafts, organizational and military
establishments, etc. After joining KLA, he soon became high ranking
officer in the command hierarchy and thus kept regular contacts with the
terrorist group of Hekuran Hoda, which carried out terrorist actions in
the region of Djakovica, following his instructions. Moreover, he was
the leader of the terrorist group named "Black caps", which operated in
the region of Djakovica. After the withdrawal of the Serbian military
and police forces and the formation of KPC, he was appointed "chief of
operations”, with headquarters in Dečani, with the rank of a major. From
the position, he kept under control all KPC bases in the region of
Metohija. As a high ranking KPC officer in the region of Djakovica, he
established contacts with the representatives of Islamic organizations
from Saudi Arabia, as well as with the group composed of about 40
mujahedins who participated in the armed conflicts in K&M against the
Serbian security forces.
9. IDRIZ (Halil) BALAJ, alias "Toger"
Born
on August 8th, 1952, in the village of Iglarevo, Municipality of Klina.
He was a commander of the special KLA unit known as "Black eagles",
formed by him upon the order of Ramush Haradinaj and operating within
the 131st brigade of the Dukadjin operational zone, and later on as the
deputy commander of the guard of the RTG KPC, with the rank of a major.
He was arrested by UNMIK police on August 11th, 2002. Together with
Ramush Haradinaj, he was involved in the murder of about 40 persons,
whose bodies were dumped into the canal of the Bistrica river.
Additionally, he is responsible for the crimes committed in the region
of the above-mentioned operational zone. Together with Daut and Bujar
Hardinai and Arben Ahmetaj, he led a terrorist group which carried out
armed attacks on the members of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs
near the village of Jablanica, Municipality of Djakovica, and on the
members of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the YA forces in
the villages of Glodjane and Donji Ratiš, Municipality of Dečani, on
October 17th, 1998, and November 16th, 1999, near
the village of Došinovica, Municipality of Dečani. In June 1999, he
kidnapped Milorad Jovanović, a pensioner, Djordje Kuzmanović, a worker
employed at the Public Enterprise PTT of Serbia, and Vladimir Vulević,
from Peć, who have been lost ever since. He is the organizer of the
forced deportation of the population from the region of Djakovica, Peć
and Dečani, and the perpetrator of the burning down of the church in the
village of Gornji Ratiš. He was particularly known for his cruelty in
torturing and murdering his victims, dismembering them with a tractor.
He damped the remains of the corpses in the canal of the Radonjić lake.
He was also known among the Albanian population as a perpetrator of the
crimes against his fellowmen. In late 1998, he killed Agim Ibrahimi, a
taxidriver from Djakovica. He is also responsible for the killings of
Cvetko Novović, from the village of Nabrdje, Municipality of Peć, and of
his wife, and for the imprisonment of Osman Berisha and Ujkan Avduli,
also from Peć, and of Vukašin Šćekić, who were kept imprisoned and
physically tortured for an extended period of time. In the late 1999, he
kidnapped Vesel Murishi and four other ethnic Albanians. He kept them
detained in the "Dukadjin” building in Peć for some time, killed four of
them while Murishi managed to escape. A number of the kidnapped persons
were tortured and murdered in the village of Ruhot. Their bodies were
dumped in the Beli Drim river. Xhafer Gjuka, a political functionary
from Peć, was among the victims. Additionally, Balaj was publicly
accused of the disappearance and murder of a number of Albanians from
the region of Metohija. He is a suspected accomplice in the murder of
Ismajl Hajdari, a DSK member on January 17th, 2002, in Peć. Idriz Balaj
belongs to the criminal organization known as "Dukadjini", led by Ramush
Haradinaj. He is one of the important organizers of the smuggling of
arms from Albania to Macedonia and Serbia and Montenegro, along the
Peć-Kula-Rožaje route. He did all this in cooperation with Ramush and
Daut Haradinaj and Xhavit Haliti. He is close with the Elshani family
since he cooperates with its members in illegal oil trade. On January
20th, 2001, unknown persons tried to assassinate Balaj by planting an
explosive device at the his house entrance, when Idriz Balaj, his wife
Teuta and a son, Sulejman, were seriously injured.
10. AFRIM (Hamdi) BASHA
Born
in 1971 in the village of Vranić, Municipality of Suva Reka. He lived
for some time in Switzerland and was one of the participants in the war
in Croatia and an instructor in the training of terrorists from K&M
organized in the Republic of Albania. As a member of a terrorist group
in the village of Vranić, he participated in numerous KLA attacks on the
police forces (in Lapušnik – Municipality of Glogovac, in Ovčarevo -
Municipality of Srbica, in Crnoljevo – Municipality of Štimlje, in Banja
– Municipality of Mališevo and in Ladrovac). For a time, he was the
leader of the group in charge of liquidation of the members of the
Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs and of ethnic Albanians loyal to
the Republic of Serbia from the region of Suva Reka and Prizren. To this
end, he was in charge of selecting the targets and made a list of
persons for liquidation. Among others, the list included Miško Nišović,
a state security member from Prizren, Agim Shahiti, a members of the
Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs from the village of Sopina, Selim
Selmani, former police officer, Sahit Zogaj, former security member from
Miliševo, Bekim Sahiti, from the village of Trnje, who was brutally
murdered by Basha and the members of his group. Early in September 1998,
he kidnapped a member of the police forces from Orahovac, transported
him to a prisoner’s camp located in the village of Timičina,
Municipality of Suva Reka, where he was ruthlessly tortured. A number of
Serbs and Albanians from the said region were detained in this camp.
11. SOKOL (Mujo) BASHOTA
Born on March 7th,
1966, in the village of Cerovik, Municipality of Klina. As a political
representative of KLA, he participated in the negotiations in Rambouier.
Bashota is one of the KLA organizers in the regions of Drenica, Klina
and Orahovac. He participated in the organization of a number of
terrorist attacks on the members of Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs
and the YA forces, as well as on the Serb civilians in the villages of
Jošanica, Biča, Dobra Voda, Čabić, Kijevo, Iglarevo, etc., together with
Rexhep Selimi, Jetulah Gecaj, Sulejman Selimi and Alush Agushi. Together
with Rexhep Selimi and Mujo Krasniqi, from the village of Čabić, he
organized the assassination of Mehmet Gashi, from the same village, and
Isuf Haliti, from the village of Zabrdje. He is an organizer and direct
participant in the kidnapping and liquidation of Desimir Jevtić from
Zvečan, and in the terrorist attack on the police department in Kijevo,
Municipality of Klina, and the attack on the family of Djordje Belić, in
which Belić was killed, and the attack on the Serbs in the village of
Djurdjevik. In these attacks, he was accompanied by Shaban Mangjolli,
Alija Berisha, Naim Raci, Bashkim and Flamur Berisha, all of them from
the village of Veliki Djurdjevik, Municipality of Klina. He organized
and directly participated in the terrorist attack on the family of
Ramadan Balaj, from the village of Iglarevo, as well as in the
kidnapping and liquidation of Hetem Dobruna, from the village of Lozica,
Municipality of Klina, and of Ramadan Buzhola. Together with Habib and
Zeqir Morina and Agim Pantin, he participated in the kidnapping and
liquidation of Sali Berisha, alias "Zali", and of his brother, Bajram,
and of Binak Berisha, Brahim Zogaj and their sons, Fadil and Ramadan,
from Iglarevo, whose bodies were found in the region of Orahovac on the
Orlate – Mališevo road. Together with Fehmil, Bilall and Shefqet Kryeziu,
he organized the liquidation of Ajet Gashi, retired member of the
Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs Security Service. Following the
demilitarization of KLA, he joined Hashim Thaqi’s DPK and, over a period
of time, kept the post of the Minister for Labor and Social Affairs in
the Interim Government formed by Thaqi after the withdrawal of the
Serbian police and military forces from K&M. In addition to his
political connections with Hashim Thaqi, he also participated in the
criminal activities of his group from Drenica.
12. BAJRAM (Maliqi) BEGA
Born on April 8th,
1966, in the village of Jezerce, Municipality of Uroševac. He was the
commander of a special unit of KLA military police in the barracks in
the village of Jezerce. He is responsible for the crimes made on the
territory of the Nerodimlje KLA zone of operations: for more than 29
terrorist attacks, 22 murders, 27 kidnappings, 15 illegal imprisonments,
as well as for the damage of the orthodox "Sveti Uroš" church, near
Gornje Nerodimlje in 1998. He participated in armed attacks on the
village of Nerodimlje in 1998 and 1999, and on the village of Grebno in
April 1999, as well as in forced deportation of the local population
from the territory of Uroševac. He is responsible for the establishment
of eight prisons in the region. He operated on the territory of the
Municipality of Uroševac in a group together with Nazmi Lumni and Ekrem
Ballillaj, Guta Hisni and Misret Kalenica. He participated in the armed
attacks of carried out by this group on the civilians in the settlement
of Sastav reka, near the village of Nerodimlje, when the villagers
Siniša Lukić and Veselin Lazić were abducted. Since 1998, he has
participated in numerous armed attacks on the members of the Serbian
Ministry of Internal Affairs and on YA forces and is responsible for the
assassination of the reserve police officer, Dragan Milić, from the
village of Donje Nerodimlje, committed during one of the above-mentioned
attacks.
13.
GJEMAJL (Isuf) BEJTA
Born on February 17th,
1945, in the village of Srednja Klina, Municipality of Srbica. BEJTA is
former YA officer. Based on the decision of the KLA general staff for
the Municipality of Srbica, he was one of the commanders in charge of
the military training of KLA members. In 1998, he led diversionary
terrorist training of KLA members in the region of Drenica, to be
subsequently elected member of the KLA general staff for the Drenica
operational zone located in the village of Likovac, Municipality of
Srbica. He was actively engaged in the animation of ethnic Albanians
serving the former Yugoslav Army, instigating them to join KLA forces.
Along with Zaim Berisha, Milaim Berisha and Ejup Dragu, he had a
prominent role in the organization of the parallel Ministry of Defense
of the Republic of Kosovo. After the formation of KPC, he was appointed
chief of the personnel department.
14.
AVNI (Musa) BERISHA, alias "Tarkan"
Born on August 13th,
1974, in the village of Konjuševac, Municipality of Podujevo. He was a
KLA member in the region of the Lab operational zone, where he carried
out a number of terrorist actions together with Avni Feta from the
village of Penduh, Municipality of Podujevo and Rustem Mustafa, aka "Remi",
to become finally, after June 1999, a participant in the ethnic
cleansing of the territory of the municipalities of Podujevo and
Priština. Upon the order of Latif Gashi, chief of the military police in
the above- mentioned zone at the time, and his deputy, Nazif Mehmeti, he
executed four ethnic Albanians from the region of the Municipality of
Podujevo (Aglush Kastrati from Krpimej, Mirveta, Agim and Isak Musliu
from Glavnik). He led the group of the KLA secret police members
responsible for the murder of Predrag Jovanović, from the village of
Sušica, Municipality of Priština. In December 1998, he liquidated Milić
Jović, former member of the provincial Ministry of Internal Affairs. He
is one of the participants in the attack on Stanimir Dimović, a police
officer from Podujevo, who was severely injured on the occasion. After
the dismissal of KLA, in September 1999, Berisha joined KPC in Priština.
15. RUSTEM (Shaban)
BERISHA
Born on July 18th,
1955, in the village of Kruševac, Municipality of Peć. He was one of the
leaders of the staff of the 2nd KPC RTG in Paštrik, with its
headquarters in Prizren. At the moment, he is a director of the "Hamz
Jashari" KPC Academy in Priština. Together with Baslim Zyrapi, he is
responsible for 26 murders, 77 abductions and organizing of 6 improvised
prisons located on the territory of Orahovac and Prizren. In addition to
all this, he also participated in the armed attack on the YA border
outpost in the village of Košare, Municipality of Djakovica in 1999,
when he, in person, killed several soldiers. Together with a group of
terrorists, on June 11th, 1999, he broke into a house of a
certain Hatidza in the village of Erec, and committed a criminal act of
rape of the said Albanian woman and her two daughters. The same group
tortured some Roma people and raped large number of girls of this
national group. Berisha is also responsible for the kidnapping of Sadri
Camaj on February 9th, 1999, in the vicinity of Djakovica, as
well as for inflicting severe injuries to, and the murder of, Shkelzen
Kamberi, from the village of Ponoševac, who was kept detained in an
improvised prison located in the region of Djakovica.
16.
SHEFIK (Hazir) BEQIRI, alias commander "Dardani"
Born on August 13th,
1960, in the village of Koprivnica, Municipality of Kosovska Kamenica.
In 1998, he was appointed commander of the 172nd KLA brigade
and KLA general staff member for the region of Kosovska Kamenica. He
ordered deportation of the citizens of Roma nationality from the village
of Ogošt, Municipality of Kosovska Kamenica, as well as plundering and
burning down of their houses. Moreover, he was the leader of a group
composed of 15 individuals who drove away the Serb population from the
Municipality of Kosovska Kamenica and who also ordered the torture of a
number of Serbs and ethnic Albanians. He ordered the murder of Trajan
Trajković, a member of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs from the
village of Kololeč, Municipality of Kosovska Kamenica, as well as ethnic
cleansing of the village Čarakovica in the same Municipality. He
organized the delivery of a large quantity of arms from Gnjilane in the
Koprivnica village for the needs of the units operating within ANA, when
KFOR members accomplished to seize certain quantity of the said arms.
Previously, he was in charge of procurement of arms intended for LAPMB.
He also maintains contacts with the criminal groups through which he had
organized illegal arms and drug sales. Currently he keeps the post of a
senior KPC officer in Vitina.
17.
LAHI (Shaban) IBRAHIMI, alias "Madjun"
Born on January 21st,
1970, in the village of Jablanica, Municipality of Djakovica. In
September 1998, criminal charges were pressed against Ibrahimi for his
terrorist activities. He has been the initiator and the major
perpetrator of the extremists‘ actions in the region of Jablanica since
1995. In late 1996, he established illegal terrorist group named
"Avengers". He was in charge of the receiving end of the arms delivery
which he stored at his home in Jablanica. He organized the training in
the handling of infantry weapons and explosive devices for the members
of various terrorist organizations. Together with the members of his
group, Faik Mehmeti and Naser Ibrahimi, he carried out a number of
terrorist attacks on the police units in the regions of Duškaje,
Baranska Ljuga and Ponoševica. Early in 1998, he participated in the
reception and hiding of Ramush Haradinaj and other terrorists who
participated in the murder of Miodrag Otović, a police officer from the
Dečani police department. In March of the same year, he was appointed
commander of the KLA general staff for the region of Duškaj and thus
cooperated with Idriz Balaj, aka "Toger" and Fadil Nimonaj, aka "Tiger",
the commander of KLA military police in this region. At the same time,
he established a strong terrorist base and erected the barracks in the
village of Jablanica which he used for the training of new KLA members
and for storing arms and military equipment received from Albania and
which was then shipped toward Drenica. He himself planned and executed
the kidnapping of Serbs and of a certain number of Albanians who were
kept in the prison in Jablanica. In the cellar of a house he built a
pool and used it to torture the kidnapped individuals. In it, he was
helped by the late Naser Ibrahimi, and Faik Mehmetaj, Nazmi Ibrahimi and
Xhevdet Kasumi, all from the village of Jablanica. The group is
responsible for the execution of at least 10 kidnapped individuals,
whose bodies were dumped into the Radonjic lake, near the village of
Ratiš, Municipality of Dečani, while some of the bodies were buried in
the woods near the lake. Together with other members of his group,
Ibrahimi killed three persons, including one police officer and an
ethnic Albanian from the village of Labljani, Municipality of Peć, who
refused to offer financial support to KLA. Their bodies were dumped in
the Sušica river. Owing to his family relations with Ramush Haradinaj,
Albanians also suspect him of murdering Tahir Zemaj, one of the former
KLA commanders. Because of his engagement in the armed activities of ANA
in Macedonia and of LAPMB in the south of Serbia, he was dismissed from
the position of the staff member of the 3rd KPC RTG, with the
headquarters in Peć, while on June 18th, 2002, he was
arrested by UNMIK police, together with Sadik Çeku, Idriz Balaj and
Bekim Zekaj, under suspicion of perpetrating crimes against Albanians
and members of other national communities in this region of K&M during
1999. After several hours of detention, Lahi Ibrahimi and Sadik Çeku
were released.
18. RAM (Gani) BUJA
Born on December 5th,
1958, in the village of Bujance, Municipality of Lipljan. He
participated in the negotiations held in Rambouier, as a close
collaborator of Hashim Thaqi, Jakup Krasniqi and Shukri Buja. He is a
member of the DPK Central Committee. He is one of the organizers of
Albanian referendum in 1992, when he became a delegate in the illegal
Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo. Through the contacts with Ibush
Visi, from the village of Dubrava, Municipality of Kačanik, he monitored
terrorist KLA activities in the region of Štimlje, Dečani and Peć, and
subsequently became a member of the top KLA staff in the region of
Lipljan and Mališevo. From the base in Mališevo, he coordinated,
together with Jakup Krasniqi and Azem Syla, terrorist attacks on the
Serb civilians and on YA members and the members of the Serbian Ministry
of Internal Affairs and was the instigator of the kidnapping of the
members of the security forces in K&M for the purpose of exchanging them
for the captured terrorists from the KLA units. He is a direct
participant in a number of terrorist actions carried out in Srbica, in
the regions of Lapašnik, Mališevo, Lipljan and Suva Reka. After the
withdrawal of the Yugoslav and Serbian security forces from K&M, he
organized terrorist actions of KLA members in Mališevo, encouraging
exile, intimidation and kidnapping of Serbs from the region of Lipljan.
19. SHUKRI (Sali) BUJA,
alias "Gazetar" and "Sokol"
Born on August 27th,
1966, in the village of Bujance, Municipality of Lipljan. He was the
commander of the prisoner’s camp in the village of Lanište near
Uroševac. Till September 1999, he was the commander of the KLA
headquarters in the village Jezerce, Municipality of Uroševac, when he
was appointed commander of the 6th KPC RTG. In 2000, he left
KPC and became a participant in criminal, terrorist activities in the
region of the municipalities of Uroševac, Kačanik and Vitina. He
operates together with Genc Sefaj from Albania, a former officer of the
Albanian army forces, living in Uroševac now, who participated in the
conflicts in K&M, and with Xhabir Zharku, from Kačanik, the chief of the
Kačanik gang engaged in the smuggling of arms and in drug trafficking.
Together with Genc Sefaj he usurped numerous business premises whose
owners were Serbs, using them as catering facilities or consumer goods
storage facilities. Part of the money earned by organized crime, i.e.,
the smuggling of arms, was used for financing terrorist activities of
ANA and the terrorist groups operating on the territory of FYROM and
southern Serbia. He maintains close relations with the Suma criminal
gang led by brothers Rufki, Emrush and Shkelzan Suma. In addition to
blackmailing money extortion, the gang is also engaged in the
trafficking of drugs, tobacco and arms smuggled to the FYRepublic of
Macedonia. The Suma family has also usurped cement works in General
Janković, exploiting them as if they were his own property.
20. JAH (Salli) BUSHATI
Born on February 25th,
1972, in the village of Grgoč, Municipality of Djakovica. He was a
member of the so-called Jablanica group, led by Lahi Ibrahimi. From the
beginning of 1998, he participated in all the attacks on the members of
the Serb and Albanian population, as well as on the Roma in the region.
Together with Safedin Alia, also from the village of Grgoč, on June 2nd,
1998, he attacked the house of the Thaqi family from the village of
Kosurić, Municipality of Peć, when Uk Thaqi, who had refused to join
KLA, was killed. In June of the same year, Bushati and Agim Zejnelli,
aka "Cergash", from Jablanica, kidnapped Dejan Randjelović, from the
village of Bec, as well as one member of the Roma community, who were
released after days of maltreatment and torture. At the time, the above
mentioned group was engaged in the plunder of temporarily abandoned Serb
and Montenegrin houses in the village of Bec, since the population was
afraid of the activities of Albanian terrorists. Bushati organized
repeated attacks on a Montenegrin house in the village of Crmljane,
owned by Babović family. In late August of the same year, Bushati and
Zejnelli carried out a terrorist attack on the clinic in the village of
Drenovac. On September 29th, 1998, Bushati kidnapped a
taxi-driver on the road to the village Krljane, near Djakovica, who was
kept imprisoned for several days in the village of Krljane and then
murdered. After the withdrawal of the Serbian security forces from K&M,
together with Arif Shala, a former KLA member, Bushati was actively
engaged in the kidnapping and exile of the Serbs and the Roma from the
region of Duškaje, particularly from the village of Crmljane. On June 16th,
1999, they kidnapped Halid Beqa, a Roma from the same village, as well
as Halid’s father, Mihtar, on the following day. Halid disappeared
without a trace, while Mihtar was released after several days of
maltreatment whereupon, with his family, he left K&M.
21.
JUSUF VELIA, alias "Zali"
Born on July 26th,
1957, in Priština. As one of the rather active members of the former KLA
within the Lab operational zone, he kept the post of the military police
commander.
He participated in the
terrorist arrack on the "Niš-express bus" on February 16th,
2001, near the village of Livadice, Municipality of Podujevo, when 11
passengers were killed. For this reason, he was arrested by UNMIK police
and KFOR members.
22. AZEM (Rexha) VESELI
Born on March 8th,
1964, in the village of Labljane, Municipality of Peć. He joined KLA
forces in 1997 and, as the commander of the unit in the village of
Labljane and member of the general staff for the Dukadjin operational
zone, he participated in a number of terrorist actions against the
members of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs and in the exile of
the Serbs from the region of Metohija, as well as in the organization of
arms and military equipment supply from Albania to K&M. He is
responsible for the numerous crimes committed on the territory of the
Dukadjin operational zone. In late 1998, he participated in the
kidnapping, torture and execution of a number of people from Peć,
including Vladimir Vulević and Xafer Gjuka, whose bodies were dumped in
the Beli Drim river. Additionally, on July 11th, 1998, Veseli
kidnapped and subsequently murdered, together with several numbers of
his diversionary, terrorist group, Skender Kuqi, from the same village.
Since early 1999, he has been the commander of the illegal terrorist
organization "KLA Wing", which operates in the region of the Drim
district and is responsible, among other things, for the numerous
kidnappings, extortions and robberies of the Albanians loyal to the
Republic of Serbia. He led the 133rd KLA brigade, which,
entered Istok on June 18th, 1999, and committed numerous murders,
detained the remaining civilians, devastated and robbed movable property
and real estates and demolished numerous religious and cultural
monuments. Together with a group of KLA secret police members,
established by Naser Shatri, intended to liquidate the Serb population,
in June 1999, Veseli murdered Stanoje Ljušić in his home, as well as
Mihailo and Djurdje Vujuć, Radoje Vulić and his wife, and their son,
Miško, and Petar Djurić and several other persons from Istok. Moreover,
he ordered the execution of Radovan Radnić, which was carried out by
Zenun Gashi, aka "Hoxha”, on June 20th, 1999, in Istok. In
1999, he was the commander of the prison located in a private house in
the village of Kaličani, Municipality of Istok, where some 150 civilians
were detained. He was closely connected with the criminal organization
known as "Dukadjini" led by Ramush Haradinaj, and directly participated
in the arms, drugs, humanitarian aid and white slaves trafficking, as
well as in the intimidation of competitive criminal groups. Late in
2002, he was suspended from the function of the KPC commander in Istok.
However, in 2003, he was reinstated.
23.
KADRI (Fazli) Veseli, alias "Luli"
Born on May 31st, 1967, in
Kosovska Mitrovica. In the late 80s and early 90s, he was actively
included in the activities of the illegal NMRK organization, engaged in
the organization of armed groups and terrorist actions. In 1991, he
completed a diversionary, terrorist training in the military camp in
Albania. He participated in the terrorist attack on the members of the
Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs, on the railroad crossing near
Glogovac, when four police officers were killed and three injured.
Thereafter he escaped to Switzerland, and was granted political asylum.
After the deployment of the international forces in K&M, Hashim Thaqi
appointed him chief of ECGS, whose individual members are directly
subordinated to DPK party leadership and responsible, among other
things, for the murders committed in order to maintain Thaqi’s political
position. He belongs to the organized criminal gang led by Thaqi who
gained control over the trafficking in arms, drugs, oil, oil derivatives
and other excise goods. Thanks to his current political position and
influence on the most extreme part of the separatist’s movement. As a
member of this organized criminal group, Veseli controls a number of
firms dealing with sales of excise goods, including "Kosovo-petrol", the
most important one. His closest collaborators are Muhamet Kosova, Feti
Bakali, Demir Bitiqi, Xhavit Haliti, etc.
24. REXHEP (Maksut)
VESELI, alias "Shpetimi" and "Fisnik"
Born on August 6th, 1970, in
Gnjilane. At the time of the armed conflicts in K&M, he was a KLA member
in the Karadak operational zone, where he participated, together with
Ramadan Ramadani and Mustafa Sallih, in the smuggling of arms, food and
other military equipment from the Republic of Albania to the region of
K&M. For a certain period of time he was a bodyguard of Imri Iljazi, the
commander of the 6th KPC RTG in Gnjilane. After the establishment of the
terrorist organization known as ANA, he was in charge of organization of
a terrorist group in the Municipality of Gnjilane. He is one of the
wealthiest men in K&M. He owns "Perparimi" Holding Company, the
furniture factories "NTP Kosova Mobilia" and "Thumbi" in Gnjilane, six
department stores in the same town which are, among other things, used
for the storage of the smuggled goods. Through his business connections
in Turkey, he procured arms and uniforms for LAPMB, established close
relations with Rustem Mustafa and Ellami Bajrami, cooperating with them
in the "Cobra Security Co." and is included in the mafia network of
Fadil Gumnishte.
25.
SALI (Shaban) VESELI
Born on July 23rd,
1953, in the village of Smonica, Municipality of Djakovica. As a former
YNA officer, he participated in the organization of the military
training of terrorists in Albania during the 1990–1993 period. He was an
operational deputy of the chief of the general staff of KLA. In the
period January – October 2000, he kept the post of the commander of the
2nd KPC RTG Paštrik, to be subsequently (in May 2001)
appointed commander of the 4th KPC RTG of Lab. He is
responsible for more than 16 murders, for kidnapping and illegal
imprisonment of approximately 14 persons, for large-scale destruction of
property, forced deportation of population from the territory of
Podujevo, as well as for more than twenty terrorist attacks, including
an armed attack on the village of Obranlja, Municipality of Podujevo. He
directly participated in the execution of Ekrem Rexha, alias "Commander
Drini", most probably upon the order of Hashim Thaqi and, in the words
of the witnesses, other accomplices in this murder, Veseli gave each one
DM 15,000.
26.
SKENDER (Maksut) VESELI, alias "Bili"
Born on April 16th,
1971, in Gnjilane. Due to a well grounded suspicion of having
participated in the commitment of terrorist acts, the District Public
Prosecutor in Gnjilane pressed criminal charges against him in June
1999. He was the commander of the guard and of the military police in
the KLA general staff in the Karadak operational zone, charged with the
protection of the general staff members and with discipline of KLA
members who had failed to comply with the orders of the
commanders-in-chief, Ahmet Isufi and Shemsi Syla. For this purpose, he
organized an improvised prisons in the cellars of privately owned houses
where disobedient Albanians and kidnapped Serbs were tortured. He
participated in the terrorist actions in the Municipality of Gnjilane,
as well as in the village of Marevce, Municipality of Priština while,
together with Elisah Imeri and his brother Rexhep Veselji, alias,
"Fisnik", he was engaged in the popularization of KLA.
After his service in the KPC
guard unit in Priština, he participated in the torture of the Serbs in
the villages of Dobrcane and Bukovik, Municipality of Gnjilane (Svetozar
Antić, Srdjan Tepavčević, Dragan Dimitrijević and Nebojsa Antonijević,
who succumbed to his injuries – all from Gnjilane). Occasionally, as an
instructor for the members of the terrorist organization, he stayed in
the village of Dobrosin, Municipality of Bujanovac, where the general
staff of the LAPMB was located. He also stayed on the territory of
FYROM, where he was engaged in terrorist activities and in the training
of NLA members.
27. BESIM (Shaban) VOKSHI
Born on April 23rd,
1955, in Djakovica. Early in 1998 he became a member of KLA and operated
in the region of Djakovica in a group together with Hekuran Hoda, Anton
Lekaj and Arben Shkupi, alias "Zifa", responsible for the kidnapping and
maltreatment of non-Albanian population detained in the "Paštrik" Hotel
cellar, where Vokshi had established an improvised prison and was its
commander. He is directly responsible for kidnapping of a number of
Serbs, Montenegrins and Roma from Djakovica, including Besim Ramoci, a
Roma from Djakovica, as well as five Serbs from Orahovac (Negovan Dedić,
Budimir Baljošević, Staniša Milenković, Zvezdan Mojsić and Goran Stolić)
who had tried to escape to Montenegro via Djakovica. Afijete and G¸zim
Zeqiri, Hasan Tafa and Shaban Bala were tortured in the same premises,
to be subsequently released, while Bajram Krasniqi, Zvezdan Lushaj and
Rade Gagović were killed. After the demilitarization of KLA, Vokshi
established and currently manages the agency known as "Besa security" in
Djakovica, which is presumably engaged in the protection of the catering
facilities and other premises. Since its work was prohibited by UNMIK
police on several occasions, due to criminal activities, the seat of the
agency was repeatedly moved all over Djakovica. In December 2001, UNMIK
members searched the premises of the agency and found documentation
indicating that its members were engaged in the extortions from the
wealthy citizens and in illegal oil trade. The said agency is connected
with the suicide of Tafiz Lila, a merchant from Djakovica, whose private
company "Tafa Komerc" was taken over by "Besa Security" members, former
KLA members, who robbed him of a large amount of money. They also
threatened his son, Shukria, who later escaped to Tirana. The said
agency was connected to a criminal gang named "Hawks", operating in the
region of Djakovica. Namely, the members of the gang were responsible
for the robbery, kidnapping and maltreatment of the inhabitants of
Djakovica who, in turn, asked the "Besa Security" agency for protection.
The members of the said agency were also connected to the robberies and
murder of "unfit" and wealthy citizens, such as Edward Shalja, from
Djakovica, whose goldsmith’s shop was robbed after his murder.
28. LATIF (Rizah) GASHI,
alias "Lata" and "Fati"
Born on September 12th,
1961, in the village of Dobri Do, Municipality of Podujevo. Gashi is the
former commander of the KLA military police unit and of the intelligence
service within the Lab operational zone and the former chief of the ECGS
operational service. In 1998, as the commander of the KLA military
police, he was in charge of ordering the kidnapping and liquidation of
the Albanians loyal to the Republic of Serbia, as well as of a large
number of Serbs. After the withdrawal of the forces of the Serbian
Ministry of Internal Affairs and of YA from K&M, he became the chief of
the KLA secret police, with its headquarters in Priština, responsible
for the detention and torture of civilians. Moreover, he was responsible
for the operations of ECGS, as its head, while in September 1999, he was
elected deputy commander of the 5th KPC RTG, led by Rustem Mustafa. He
is an organizer of abductions in the region of Lab, when he in person
carried
out interrogation of the
kidnapped persons. He was immediately responsible for torturing of
Albanians loyal to the Republic of Serbia, as well as followers of
Ibrahim Rugova upon the order of Hashim Thaqi. Together with Dritton
Zhjeqi and Robert Bertetsky, Gashi organized the placing of an explosive
device in the building of the former Yugoslav Committee for Cooperation
with UNMIK and KFOR in Priština when Goran Jeftić was killed. In 1999,
upon his order to do so, three Serbs – Jovica Stamenković, Miodrag
Mladenović and professor Milenko Leković – were killed in the premises
of the School of Economy. Based on the testimonies of a number of
witnesses, Gashi, as a deputy commander of the 5th KLA
operational zone, ordered the liquidation of a member of the former
State Security Center, Milić Jović, on December 1st, 1998. in Podujevo,
as well as the imprisonment of Alush Kastrati, from Krpimej, Hetem
Jashari, from Podujevo, Agim Musliu, alias "Agim Tocku", Idriz Svarça,
from Bijelo Polje, Drite Bunjaku-Voci, from Lužane, Nazmi Rustemi,
brothers Muja, Adem, Halil and Fitim Rakovice, from the village of
Dumosa, Hakif Hoti, from the village of Bradaša, Fehmi Poter, from the
village of Lapaštica, Bexhet Nazifi, from Bajčina, Milan Stanković and
his wife from Peran, as well as Drago Tijanić, also from Peran. In
addition to that, members of Gashi’s terrorist group kidnapped Osman
Sinani, from the village of Murgule, Municipality of Podujevo, who was
subsequently murdered, as well as Milovan Stanković, a worker employed
in the "Javor” company in Podujevo, from the village of Bečić,
Municipality of Merošine, Ratko Vićentijević, from the village of Donja
Dumnica, Visar Voca, Sabri Berisha, Mirveta Konjushevci, Goran Zbiljić,
Čedomir Blagojević, Živorad Biserčić and Ljubiša Nedeljković. The
kidnapped persons were detained in the prisons located in the villages
of Gornja Lapaštica, Bajgora, Majance and Potok, in the Municipality of
Podujevo. He is one of the participants in the terrorist attack carried
out on August 28th, 1996, in the village of Donje Ljupče, Municipality
of Podujevo, when Ejup Bajgora, a member of the State Security Center in
Priština, was killed. In addition to Gashi, Zahir Pajaziti from the
village of Turčice, Nazif Mehmeti, Naim Kadriu and Shaip Haziri from the
village Kačikol, Municipality of Priština, participated in this attack.
On June 12th, 1999, in the village of Polić, Gashi liquidated
Krunislav Jošanović, from the village of Orlane, Municipality of
Podujevo who had been kidnapped. After the international community had
established the Belgrade department for investigating the crimes
committed in K&M, a mass grave with more than 37 bodies of the Serb
civilians was discovered in the village of Kačidol, Municipality of
Podujevo, with Gashi’s terrorist group responsible for the executions.
He was arrested on January 29th, 2002, by KFOR and UNMIK, and sentenced
by the International Court in Priština on July 16th, 2003, to
10 years of imprisonment for the war crimes committed in the regions of
Priština and Podujevo. Other members of the Lab group were sentenced as
well – Mustafa Rustem to 17 years of imprisonment, Nazif Mehmeti to 13
years and Naim Kadriu to 5 years of imprisonment.
29. FAHRUDIN (Haredin)
GASHI
Born on December 8th,
1969, in Štimlje. In May 1998, he joined the KLA forces and their staff
located in the village of Krajmirovce, Municipality of Lipljan, to be
soon appointed chief of the military police in charge of a part of the
territory of the Municipality of Štimlje. In addition to his engagement
in the surveillance of the movements on the local roads, he participated
in the attacks on the police and YA members, in the maltreatment and
kidnapping of the Serbs, as well as the Albanians loyal to the Republic
of Serbia (Agim Ademi, Ahmeti Veseli and Shuqer Zymberi). After the
signing of the UN Security Council resolution 1244 and the withdrawal of
the members of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the YA
forces from K&M, Gashi focused his activities within the KLA secret
police on the expulsion of non-Albanian population from the region of
Štimlje, organizing night attacks on the members of the Serb and Roma
ethnic groups accompanied with blackmail and intimidation. At the same
time, he participated in the kidnapping of the prominent members of the
Albanian families in Štimlje, in order to gain material advantages.
Also, he is responsible for the kidnapping of the 12 year old son of
Hasan Rexhepi, the owner of the "Migros" Company, who was ordered to pay
the ransom of DM 60,000. Together with Isak Musliu, he is responsible
for the murder of Qerim Isamili, Agim Ademi, Ahmet Veseli and Fatmir
Zymberi, from the village of Gornje Godance, and Imri Bajrami, from
Štimlje. Because of the said activities, he was arrested by KFOR and
subsequently released upon the intervention of his superiors. He is one
of the leaders of the terrorist organization known as ANA in the region
covering the villages of Gornje Godance, Zborce, Petrašica, Duka, in the
Municipality of Štimlje, and the villages of Sedlare and Krajmirovce,
Municipality of Lipljan. In addition to all this, he participated in the
organized smuggling and processing of drugs, as well as in white slave
trafficking in the whole region of K&M. He is the leader of the criminal
group composed of Bajrush and Bedri Rexhaj, from the village of Petrovo,
Agim Isamili, from the village of Crnoljevo, Mehmet Miftari, Heset Bleta
and Bexhet (Xhevat) Fazlliu, from Štimlje. The abovementioned group was
engaged in the illegal procurement and re-sale of different arms, in the
thefts and robberies of the wealthy individuals and private companies,
in blackmailing and, particularly, in drug trafficking. Gashi hired
Shefki Osmani, from Štimlje, and Samit Sefejdini, from Uroševac, for the
smuggling of drugs from foreign countries to K&M. Drugs were procured
through Muharem Beqaj, alias "Balem", born in Štimlje and residing in
Turkey. The main destinations of the abovementioned drugs was the Czech
Republic, and Beqaj established a channel for the transportation of
drugs on the Turkey – K&M – Italy route. "Union Bank" and its director
Ahmet Qiriqi, from Štimlje, were used to launder the money gained
through the trafficking of drugs, arms, etc. Hizer Gashi, from the
village of Petraštica, Municipality of Štimlje, was included in the
abovementioned activities, as the deputy director of the said bank.
30. JETULAH (Sinan) GECAJ
Born
on February 17th, 1954, in Lauša, Municipality of Srbica. A
KLA member from 1992 and one of the commanders in the region of the
village of Lauša, Municipality of Srbica. From the first days of KLA, he
was a member of Adem Jashari’s group engaged in the popularization of
the organization. Before and during the war, he had committed crimes
against the Serb civilians, together with his brother Sabit, alias
"Batali", in the municipalities of Srbica, Glogovac, Klina and Istok. He
was an executor of Desimir Petković, from the village of Korilja,
Municipality of Zvečane, and of Zen Durmishi, from the village of
Reketnica, Municipality of Srbica. He also participated in the terrorist
actions against the police and YA forces and was known for his cruelty
among the KLA members. After the deployment of the UN forces in K&M, he
was appointed commander of the 112th brigade in the
operational zone of Drenica by Thaqi’s Interim Government. In 2001, he
organized minor terrorist groups which harassed, attacked and tortured
their fellow men who were not the supporters of Hashim Thaqi’s political
platform. He tried to eliminate physically his political opponents,
including Fadhil Gecaj, a DSK activist from the village of Lauša,
Municipality of Srbica. In the middle of March 2001, members of the
abovementioned groups attempted the liquidation of Fadil Gecaj. The
members of the Gecaj Family were engaged in the smuggling of arms, as
well as in the extortion of money from the owners of the restaurants in
Prizren, Peć, Djakovica and Kosovska Mitrovica. They are engaged in the
drug sale and in the organization of prostitution in the regions of
Priština, Lipljan and Štimlje. In 2000, Jetulah Gecaj was arrested by
UNMIK police and subsequently sentenced to 6 years of imprisonment for
his criminal activities. He is currently serving his sentence.
31. SABIT (Sheremet)
GECAJ, alias "Batali"
Born
on August 20th, 1958, in the village of Lauša, Municipality
of Srbica. He joined KLA in 1993 and was in charge of the procurement of
arms and the training of KLA members in the region of Drenica. He
actively participated in the planning and carrying out of terrorist
attacks against the police and army members, in the kidnapping of
civilians and in ethnic cleansing of the Serbs and other non-Albanians
in the Municipality of Srbica. He was one of the commanders of the
improvised prison in the village of Likovac, Municipality of Srbica,
where several dozens of kidnapped individuals were tortured and, most of
them, upon his orders, executed. After the deployment of the
international forces in K&M, Sabit Gecai joined the Kosovo secret
service and, at the same time, he established close relations with the
criminal groups and participated in the illegal procurement and
distribution of drugs and arms, cigarettes, oil, in white slave
trafficking, money extortion, etc. He established contacts with a
criminal group from Drenica through Sylejman Selimi, alias "Sultan", led
by Hashim Thaqi, as well as with the criminal group of the Suma family.
Due to the abovementioned activities, in November 2000, he was arrested
by the international forces in K&M. His trial before the District Court
in Priština started early in 2001. He was, among other things, indicted
for the mining of the "Show” restaurant, together with his group, when
13 persons, mostly Albanians, were injured, and for the attack on
Borisav Vukićević, the then president of the
Yugoslav Committee for K&M. The trial was completed in April 2001, and
Gecaj was sentenced to six years of imprisonment. Thus, he is currently
serving his sentence in the District Jail in Kosovska Mitrovica.
32. GANI (Adem) GECI
Born
on January 20th, 1968, in the village of Lauša, Municipality
of Srbica. In 1986, he was sentenced by the District Court in Kosovska
Mitrovica to three years and six months of imprisonment for an attempted
murder. He participated in numerous terrorist operations and
liquidations of the police members in the municipalities of Srbica,
Glogovac, Klina and Kosovska Mitrovica. In one of his interviews, he
confessed his participation in the injury and the liquidation of the
policemen Dejan Galjak and Bislimović. In 1993, he carried out actions
aimed at an intimidation of the Albanians loyal to the Republic of
Serbia, including Muharem Qun, from the village of Glogovac, who was
liquidated by Geci’s collaborator, Ilaz Kadriu. In his public
appearances, he frequently criticized the activities of Hashim Thaqi,
being, at the same time, one of the financiers of DSK. On October 19th,
Hashim Thaqi’s followers attacked a vehicle with the reporter, Bekim
Kastrati, and Gani Geci, when Kastrati was killed and Geci injured. The
attack was carried out because of the article published by Kastrati on
Hashim Thaqi and Sylejman Selimi, alias "Sultan", in which he suggested
that he was going to publish the names of Albanian women raped by these
Albanian politicians.
33. ADEM (Azem) GRABOVCI, alias "Celi"
Born
on April 9th, 1960, in the village of Starodvorane,
Municipality of Istok. Due to his extremist activities and participation
in the demonstrations from 1981, he was sentenced to 5 years of
imprisonment. He left the country illegally in 1990 and went to
Switzerland where he joined the illegal NPK organization and was elected
one of its senior leaders. Together with Xhavit Haliti, Emrush Xhemaili
and Ibrahim and Muhamed Kelmendi, he participated in the propaganda
activities of the Albanians in that and other Western European
countries. After the establishment of KLA, he became a member of its
general staff in Switzerland, in charge of the procurement and transport
of arms for the diversionary terrorist groups in K&M. In this capacity,
he visited K&M illegally several times during 1999. After the signing of
the Kumanovo Agreement, he was appointed the Minister of Finance in the
self-proclaimed Interim Government of Kosovo. As a close collaborator of
Hashim Thaqi, he was elected a member of the DPK Presidium in charge of
controlling the financial assets of the party. At the same time, he
participated in all criminal actions carried out under the control of
Hashim Thaqi.
34. JAHIR (Haxhi) DEMAKU, alias "Madjup"
Born
on June 6th, 1971, in the village of Donje Obrinje, Municipality of
Srbica. He was one of the most active KLA members in the region of
Drenica, keeping the post of the commander of the special unit of the
military formation "Guri", with its headquarters in the village of
Banjica. He was in direct contact with the Jashari brothers, as well as
with Sami Lushtaku, Fadhil Kodra and others. In 1998, together with
Skender Halili and Isa Demaku, he kidnapped and subsequently killed Ivan
Bulatović, a member of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs. Also in
August, he participated in the kidnapping and wounding of Velli Vellaku,
from the village of Banjica. He is also responsible for the
establishment of the improvised prison in the village of Gornje Obirnje
and for the torture of the prisoners. In addition to his terrorist
activities, he was engaged in organized crime and was closely connected
to the leaders of the "Drenica" criminal group, mostly composed of
former KLA members from the Municipality. After the demilitarization of
KLA, he became a member of the general staff of KPC.
35. MILAZIM (Bajram) DERGUTI
Born
on October 8th, 1969, in the village of Trn, Municipality of
Uroševac. In 1998, he was engaged in monitoring of the activities of the
Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Municipality of Uroševac. As
a member of the KLA unit in the village Jezerce, Municipality of
Uroševac, he actively participated in the terrorist activities committed
by the unit in the Municipality of Štimlje. He was involved in the
kidnapping of Albanians in the villages of Trn and Košin, Municipality
of Uroševac, as well as in that of Mile Vuksanović, an employee in the
Health Center in Priština. Derguti organized and took an active part in
the ethnic cleansing of the Serbs from the region of the municipalities
of Uroševac and Štimlje, together with Isak Musliu, from the village of
Račak, Municipality of Štimlje. He was a member of KPC, but was
suspended because of his participation in the kidnapping and torturing
of civilians. Currently, he keeps the post of the deputy chief of the
ANA general staff for the municipalities of Uroševac, Kačanik, Štimlje
and Štrpce.
36. JETULAH (Sylejman) DIBRANI
Born on December 21st,
1953, in the village of Vaganica, Kosovska Mitrovica. During the 80s and
the 90s, he was sentenced several times for aggravated robberies and
other criminal acts. In April 1998, he founded a terrorist group,
together with Ismet Haxha, Shaqir Prekazi, aka "Shoco", Avni Haradinaj,
aka "Koshutovo", and Naser Lushtaku, which operated in the villages of
Vaganica, Sipolja, Piroce, Vrbinica and in the other villages in the
region of Kosovska Mitrovica. In addition to attacks on the police
force, the group intercepted civilians and took them to KLA prison in
the village of Likovac, Municipality of Srbica. Between 1998 and 1999,
the group, led by Dibrani and Ismet Haxha, detained, tortured and
probably executed Skender Ademi, Helmet Zymberi, Sherafedin Ajeti and
Teuta and Vjolca Peci, from Kosovska Mitrovica. After the zonal
reorganization of KLA, he was appointed commander of a special unit with
its headquarters in the village of Vrbnica. After the withdrawal of the
Serbian and FRY security forces from K/M, he was actively engaged in the
demolition, arson and robbery of the Serb real estate and property in
the southern part of Kosovska Mitrovica, as well as in the Albanian
demonstrations in this part of the town organized for the purpose of
forced entrance into the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica. After the
establishment of KPC, Dibrani was appointed commander of the KPC group
in charge of the region of Vagance and Sipolja. However, discontented
with his status, he retired soon thereafter. In addition of Ismet Haxha,
Dibrani was very close with Avni Haradinaj, who was killed in February
2000, in Kosovska Mitrovica, during the conflict with the French KFOR
members.
37. SOKOL (Qazim) DOBRUNA
Born
on March 22nd, 1940, in Djakovica. He was engaged in the
recruitment and transfer of Albanian to the KLA units in the villages of
Smonica and Jablanica, Municipality of Djakovica, and to the villages of
Junik and Glodjane, Municipality of Dečani, as well as in the collection
and distribution of the material support for the terrorist KLA groups in
the so-called region Reka Keć. Together with Afrim Deda, Hekuran Hoda
and Agron Krueziu, he established guerilla groups in the downtown
Djakovica, responsible for a number of attacks on the police and YA
forces in May 1999, when a considerable number of members of the
security forces were killed. During that time, Dobruna, as the president
of the KLA court martial for the region of K&M, issued, together with
his deputy, Ilaz Kadoli, from Suva Reka, both written and oral orders
for the liquidation of both the Serbs and ethnic Albanians considered to
be their political opponents. Otherwise, orders for the liquidation of
the Serbs and the destruction of their property, came to the members of
the KLA brigade in Djakovica from the commander of the Paštrik
operational zone, Ekrem Rexha, aka "Drini". After the signing of the
Kumanovo Agreement, Dobruna participated in the kidnapping and the
murder of Milivoje Vuković, in the village of Petrušan, Jovanka Stolić
and Draga Biberčić, in the village of Ljug, Bunar and the sisters Milka
and Milica Slavković, from the village of Brekovac, as well as two
former members of the Djakovica police department, Pasha Cerimu, from
the village of Janoš, and Ibrahim Mahmuti, from the village of Batuša.
Together with his brother Muslim, he was engaged in illegal trafficking
of oil derivatives, cigarettes and other goods.
38. SHABAN (Kajtaz) DRAGAJ
Born
on April 16th, 1958, in the village of Kladernica, Municipality of
Srbica. As an active member of the former YNA, he operated within the
illegal Albanian organization OMLK, with the seat in Ljubljana, which is
why he was tried by the military authorities in 1983 and dismissed from
active military service. He participated in the war conflicts in Croatia
as a member of the Croatian paramilitary formations. In May 1998, as the
leader of diversionary terrorist groups, he came illegally from Albania
to the territory of K&M and joined similar formations operating on the
territory of the village of Junik, Municipality of Srbica, where he made
contacts with Ramush Haradinaj and Lahi Ibrahimi. Later on, he went to
the region of Drenica and operated in cooperation with Sylejman Salimi,
aka "Sultan", Ilaz Kodra and Sami Lushtaku. In late 1998, he was
appointed deputy commander of the 121st KLA brigade "Ramiz
Qeriqi”, in the Paštrik operational zone. He led a terrorist group which
kidnapped "Tanjug" reporters Nebojša Radošević and Vladimir Dobričić on
October 18th, 1998, in the vicinity of the village of Magura.
Early in November 1998, he organized the kidnapping and execution of
police officers Ilija Vujošević and Dejan Djatlov, on the road between
the villages of Mališevo and Orlate. After the withdrawal of the Serbian
security forces from K&M, he became a member of the KPC command
structure.
39. FLORIM (Mursel) EJUPI, alias "Mazul" and "Luli"
Born
on June 15th, 1978, in the village of Sekirača, Municipality
of Podujevo. He is a former member of the Serbian Ministry of Internal
Affairs. As a KLA member in the region of the Lab operational zone, he
participated in the terrorist attack on the "Niš-ekspres" bus on
February 16th, 2001. Because of the said criminal act he was
detained by KFOR and spent some time in detention in the American base
"Bondsteel". However, he managed to escape and fled to Albania. He
occasionally comes to K&M where he leads an illegal group engaged in the
organization of terrorist attacks on the remaining Serbs and ethnic
Albanians with different political orientations. He was an accomplice in
the attempted murder of Tahir Zemaj in Peć in 2002, as well as in his
murder, committed in January 2003. Moreover, he is also engaged in the
activities related to organized crime and in the smuggling of
cigarettes, together with Nuredin Ibishi and Arben Viti, as his
collaborators.
40.
AGIM (Ali) ELSHANI
Born
on March 21st, 1963, in the village of Ozrim, Municipality of
Peć. During and after the armed conflicts on the territory of K&M, he
led a terrorist group responsible for a number of murders of Serbs and
Albanians on the territories of Istok and Peć. Bogić Bućković, from the
village of Vitomirica, was killed upon his command. In the middle of
June 1999, he organized and participated, in person, in the attack on a
group of Serbian refugees near Orahovac. As members of the terrorist
group led by Daut Haradinaj, brothers Agim, Qerim, Avni, Adem and Ahmet
Elshani killed several members of the families Musaj and Berisha. The
said brothers also murdered Rahman Morina, from Malo Dubovo, Shaban
Ramqaj, from Studenica, Djuza Abazović, from the village of Orno Brdo,
Municipality of Istok. In 2002, the Elshani brothers liquidated, upon
the order of Ramush Haradinaj, his former bodyguard, Avni Elazi, who was
to be a witness of the conflict, in 2000, between Haradinaj and the
Musaj family and Tahir Zemaj. Moreover, they also liquidated Ismajl
Haradinaj, the delegate from Peć, and attempted to murder Ramiz and
Sadik Muriqi from the same town, former members of FARK. On January 4th,
2003, together with Salli Laiqi, they murdered Tahir Zemaj and Ilaz
Sellimi. Agim Elashi was a member of the KLA secret police, directly
subordinated to Naser Shatri, with whom he still maintains in close
relations. Currently, he keeps the post of the director of the "Peć
brewery”, owned by Ekrem Lluka. Together with Shatri and Lluka, the
Elshani brothers hold the monopoly over the sales of oil derivatives,
tobacco, drugs and arms in the region of Peć.
41. XHABIR (Riza) ZHARKU, alias "Cari" or "Cori"
Born in 1962 in Kačanik.
Between 1998 and 1999 he was the commander of the 162nd KLA
brigade "Agim Bajrami" in the Nerodimlje operational zone. At the time,
he, in person, massacred a number of Serbs in the Municipality of Klina.
He was thereafter promoted by Agim Çeku, the commander-in-chief of the
KLA general staff, to the rank of a colonel and appointed deputy
commander of the operational zone. After the withdrawal of the members
of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the YA forces from the
region of Kačanik, Zharku was ordered by the general staff, i.e., by
Hashim Thaqi, to exile the non-Albanian population from the region of
his responsibility as well as to destroy their property. He commenced
the activities as early as June 11th, 1999, as the leader of
the group engaged in the kidnapping and subsequent massacre of Slobodan
Stojković, a retired police officer of the Serbian Ministry of Internal
Affairs. On the same day, in his headquarters located in the former
"Saniteks" factory, he participated in the torture and subsequent murder
of an ethnic Albanian, Shaip Reka, suspected of collaboration with the
Serbs. The same group is responsible for the robbery of the Orthodox
church in Kačanik. In the period between February and March 2000, he
ordered, as the commander of the 162nd KLA brigade, the
prisoner’s camp for the kidnapped Serbs located in the "Sankos” company
in Kačanik to be moved to the village of Reka, the district of Maljsi.
As a member of EGS, he participated in the interrogation and
intimidation of the Albanians suspected of collaboration with the
Serbian and Montenegrin authorities. In 2000, he gathered a group of
criminals to be engaged in the trafficking of drugs smuggled from
Albania and then transported from FYROM, via Tetovo, to the region of
Kačanik. The money earned was used to finance the terrorist organization
of ANA. Zharku and Adem Abdulahu organized procurement of arms intended
for ANA, from Albania, through Abdulah’s connections, which was
illegally transported from Albania to Macedonia and then to K&M
thereafter. A certain quantity of the arms was stored in the ANA bases
in the region of Kosovska Kamenica. Early in 2001, Zarku and Berat Luzha
recruited, organized, armed and transferred to Tetovo a group of 100
volunteers who had joined ANA. Avdul Jakupi, alias "Çakala", the ANA
commander for the region of Tetovo, was his accomplice in the
above-mentioned activities. As he owns a chain of gas stations in K&M,
Zharku is also engaged in the smuggling of oil derivatives, procured in
Bulgaria through a certain company from FYROM. In order to maintain his
position, the criminal group led by him intimidates the competitors,
using, in addition to verbal, physical attacks and explosive devices.
42.
DRITTON (Shemsi) ZHJEQI
Born
on January 1st, 1965, in Podujevo. He temporarily stays in
Stuttgart. Sentenced to over 4 years of imprisonment. Within the Lab
operational zone, he was in charge of the supply of arms and equipment
from Albania needed for KLA. After the establishment of LAPMB, Zhjeqi
was entrusted by Rustem Mustafa, aka "Remi", the commander of the 6th
KPC RTG at the time, to distribute arms and recruit Albanians from the
region of Podujevo for PMBLA. He was also engaged in the procurement of
arms and ammunition for the needs of ANA in Macedonia. He is the
organizer of a number of terrorist actions and one of the closest
collaborates of Robert Bertetsky, aka "Shaban", who was sentenced on
April 18th, 2001, by the International Court in Priština for
the murder of Aleksandar Popović, a member of the Serbian Ministry of
Internal Affairs. He also participated in the placing of an explosive
device in the building of the Yugoslav Committee for Cooperation with
UNMIK in Priština in 2000 and was a member of the group which carried
out the terrorist attack on the "Niš-ekspres" bus on February 16th,
2001, by placing an explosive device on the bus route.
43. TAHIR (REXHEP) ZEMAJ, alias "Toni"
Born
on December 28th, 1951, in the village of Gornji Streoc,
Municipality of Dečani. A former YNA captain who was granted asylum in
Germany. He was arrested in 1985 and sentenced to 6.5 years of
imprisonment for his participation in the drug trafficking. Several
years later he escaped from the prison and fled to Germany. As an
officer, he organized the training for approximately 500 FARK members,
accommodated in the building of the elementary schools in the villages
of Barane and Papraćane. Early in September 1998, after the action of
the members of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs which routed the
KLA general staff for the region of Metohija, Zemaj fled to Albania to
be promoted to the rank of a colonel by Ahmet Krasniqi, the Minister of
Defense in the self-proclaimed Government of the Republic of Kosovo. He
continued with the training of the FARK members in the Albanian towns of
Tropoji and Bajram Curiju, while in 1999, he actively participated in
the armed conflicts which took place on the Yugoslav-Albanian border.
Because of the strained relations with Ramush Haradinaj, he never came
back to the territory of K&M after the withdrawal of the members of the
Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the YA forces. He was one of
the key witnesses in trial of Daut Haradinaj, Ramush Haradinaj’s
brother, which is why Ramush Haradinaj and his group attempted to
assassinate him on several occasions during 2001 and 2002. He was killed
on April 4th, on the road Priština – Peć, together with his
son, Enis, and the nephew, Hysen Zemaj, upon the direct order of Ramush
Haradinaj.
44. GENC (son to Lumitrija) ZOGAJ
Born
on September 10th, 1979, in Novo Selo, Municipality of
Mališevo. He was a member of the KLA secret police. Zogaj’s father was
killed in a terrorist actions in Drenica, while his brother Adriatik
Zogaj, a KPC member, was killed in Gnjilane. In 2002, Genc Zogai was
accused of the murder of Mejdi Sadriju, a former member of the Serbian
Ministry of Internal Affairs in Gnjilane, as well as of the murder of
Danush Januzi and Feta Arifi, all from the Municipality of Vitina. For
that reason, he was detained and still is in the District Jail in
Gnjilane.
45.
BISLIM (Sadri) ZYRAPI
Born
on July 9th, 1962, in the village of Studenčane, Municipality
of Suva Reka. A former YNA member. As a division commander, he
participated on the side of the Muslims in the war conflicts in the
region of central Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is a perpetrator of
numerous crimes in the Paštrik operational zone, including more than 26
murders, 77 abductions, organization of 6 prisons located on the
territory of Orahovac and Prizren, of a group raping and of torture.
Additionally, he is responsible for more than twenty terrorist actions,
including attacks on the villages of Bratotin, Opteruša, Retimlje and
Zočište, carried out in July and November 1998. He is a close
collaborator of Agim Çeku. He was the chief of the KLA general staff in
K&M and the chief of staff of the 2nd KPC RTG, as well as an
official of the Ministry of Defense in the Interim Government of Hashim
Thaqi.
46.
Nuredin (Hamdija) IBISHI, alias "commander Leka"
Born
on December 4th, 1956, in the village of Kaljatica,
Municipality of Podujevo. A graduate of the Military Academy and a
former commander of the special unit with the Provincial Secretariat of
Internal Affairs. After leaving the police, he joined the independent
union of former Ministry of Internal Affairs workers, i.e., of the
parallel (Albanian) Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of
Kosovo. In June 1998, he was appointed, by Nuredin Ibishi, commander of
the general staff for the Lab operational zone, commander of the Special
KLA forces engaged in the diversionary terrorist actions, whose members
had committed a large number of terrorist attacks on the Serb
population. In August 1999, he formed, together with his closest
collaborates, Rustem Mustafa, aka "Remi", and Kadri Kastrati, the
terrorist group "Kashtjela" ("The Fortress"), whose members were engaged
in the ethnic cleansing of the Serb population in the region of
Podujevo. He participated in the establishment of KPC and the selection
and training of its leaders, but left it not long ago. He is engaged as
a lecturer at the Police Academy in Vučitrn and, at the same time, he
takes part in the training of ANA members, carried out in the region of
the Batlava lake, near Priština. Ibishi is highly experienced for this
kind of tasks, since he had completed special training for LAPMB
volunteers. He is involved in the organized crime activities. Together
with Florim Maloku and Arben Viti, he ranks among the most powerful
smugglers of cigarettes and other goods in K&M. The above-mentioned
activities were carried out under the patronage of Hashim Thaqi. He
established the agency for personal protection, named "Cobra", and
actually engaged in the organized crime activities. In 2002, he was one
of the owners of the "Siguria" Insurance Company in Priština, as well as
the owner of a certain "tourist” facility in Podujevo, actually used for
organized prostitution. He also usurped the apartment of his neighbor,
Dragiša Aleksić, in Podujevo. He owns an exclusive restaurant on the
Batlava Lake, the meeting-place of the organized crime members from the
region, as well as the numerous members of the Albanian terrorist
groups. Since June 2003, he has been employed in the "Mabatex" company,
owned by Bexhet Pacoli, a highly influential financier of the Albanian
terrorism, as one of the closest Pecoli’s collaborators.
47. IMRI (Imer) ILAZI, alias "Feri"
Born
on January 26th, 1963, in the village of Kamena Glava,
Municipality of Uroševac. Criminal charges were pressed against him on
July 20th 1998, in his absence. As a member of the illegal
NPK organization, he founded diversionary terrorist groups responsible
for three terrorist actions on the members of the Serbian Ministry of
Internal Affairs in 1998. He also participated in the formation of the
KLA staff for the Municipality of Uroševac in June 1998 and was
subsequently appointed deputy commander of the KLA staff in the village
of Jezerce. After the withdrawal of the members of the Serbian Ministry
of Internal Affairs and the YA forces from K&M, he organized ethnic
cleansing of the Serbs in the municipalities of Uroševac, Štimlje and
Kačanik, when the total Serb population was exiled, their property
plundered and 80% of the houses set on fire. After the formation of KPC,
Ilazi was appointed deputy commander, and subsequently commander of the
6th KPC RTG. He is still there.
48.
GANI (Shahin) IMERI
Born
on October 12th, 1967, in the village of Gornja Dubica,
Municipality of Vučitrn. After a long stay abroad (in Germany,
Switzerland, Croatia and Austria) he returned in the middle of 1997 to
K&M and joined KLA within Shalja operational zone. Early in 1998, he
formed the KLA general staff in the village of Cecilija, Municipality of
Vučitrn, and became its commander. For the purpose of popularization of
KLA in the region of Vučitrn, he carried out a forced mobilization of a
large number of individuals, threatening them with liquidation, and
organized their training, and the actions related to fortification
(digging of trenches and bunkers), and the terrorist actions against the
members of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the YA forces,
against the Serb and Albanian population refusing to cooperate with KLA.
Together with a group of 20 KLA members, he participated in the
terrorist attacks on the mine of Stari Trg and the police officers there
in 1998. In June 1999, he was the commander of the so-called KLA Secret
Police for the region of Vučitrn, and was subsequently appointed
commander of the 4th battalion of the 141st KPC
brigade, with the headquarters in Vučitrn. He was the commander of the
prisoner’s camp for the detained Serbs and Albanians located in a
department store cellar in Vučitrn. In the same region he killed more
than 10 members of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs and of YA
and led terrorist groups engaged in the expulsion of the Serb population
from the villages of Grace, Samodreža, Nedakovac, Donji and Gornji
Svračak, and the destruction of their property. In June 1999, Imeri
organized the kidnapping of Dušan Brakus, Svetozar Stambolić and Ćirilo
Janaćković, subsequently killed in the region of Šalja. In the village
of Gojbulja, he organized the kidnapping of Nenad Mihajlović, his sons
Branimir, Vladimir and Aleksandar, as well as Vladan Mladenović. He
himself led the group of terrorists responsible for the arson and
robbery in the villages of Grace, Novoselo and Samodreža, where they
demolished the Orthodox church. Imeri was engaged in the extortion of
money from the Albanians in the region of Vučitrn and, for that reason,
he was attacked by his opponents who had planted an explosive device in
his car (when he sustained light mildly injuries). When armed conflicts
began in FYROM, he organized the transfer of a large quantity of arms
and ammunition intended for the Albanian extremists there. Because of
the said activities, in March 2001, he was arrested by KFOR members in
the village of Pantina, to be released soon thereafter due to the lack
of evidence. Since he took for himself a considerable part of the
financial assets intended for the procurement of military equipment for
the Albanian terrorists, he became the owner of a number of business
premises and lots in the central part of Vučitrn. Additionally, he
initiated the construction of a large business-residential building in
the same town, together with Pajazit Plana, the president of the
above-mentioned Municipality.
49. ELISAH (Xhemajl) IMERI, nicknamed "Uli"
Born
on July 10th, 1971, in the village of Vladovo, Municipality
of Gnjilane. Suspected of having committed a criminal act of association
for the purpose of carrying out hostile activities, in connection with
the criminal act of terrorism, criminal charges were brought against him
on June 14, 1999. As a member of the terrorist KLA in the area of
Karadac, he was engaged in the organization of logistic aid to the local
headquarters in the village of Zlaš, Municipality of Priština, intended
to secure and deliver arms, military equipment, food and transporting to
the KLA members, via secret channels from Albania and FYROM to the
aforementioned region. Beside him, the terrorist group which was engaged
in these activities, was made up of: Rexhep Veseli, aka "Fisnik",
Skender Veseli, aka "Bili", both from Gnjilane, RamadanRamadani, aka
"Hoxha", from the village of Bukovnik, Municipality of Gnjilane, Salih
Mustafa, aka "Salko", and Fadhil Ramadani, both from the village of
Maleševo, Municipality of Gnjilane, followed by Besim Imeri, Elisah’s
cousin, as well as other relatives from the Preševo area, Shaqir
Shaqiri, aka "Qeli", and Bajram Selimi. After the security forces
withdrew from Kosovo and Metohija, the members of this group were
especially active on the territory of the villages of Dobrcane,
Bukovnik, Ugljare and Podgradje, in the Gnjilane Municipality, where
their headquarters were situated and where they tortured the kidnapped
individuals of non-Albanian ethnic origin. In connection with that, a
mass grave containing fourteen murdered Serbs was found in the village
of Ugljare. The members of this terrorist group were also active in the
provision of logistic aid to the LAPMB headquarters in the village of
Dobrosin, Municipality of Bujanovac.
50.
BEXHET (Isman) IMISHTI, alias "Kačak”
Born
on August 6th, 1958, in the village of Dubrava, Municipality
of Kačanik. Due to the terrorist activities which he conducted as a
member of the KLA headquarters on the territory of Kačanik, he was
sentenced to imprisonment, in absentia, in 1998. Up to the moment when
KPC was formed, he kept the post of deputy commander of the 162nd KLA
brigade, and at the beginning of 2000, he was appointed leader of the
"Black Hand" terrorist group which was formed by Kosovo’s secret
service. Imishti was an organizer of the illegal arms smuggling channels
for the Albanian terrorists in FYROM which, after the Ohrid Agreement
was signed and the situation became less tense, he employed for the
smuggling of excise goods from Kosovo and Metohija to the FYRepublic of
Macedonia. He is currently active in the ANA terrorist organization on
the territory of FYROM, which is why members of UNMIK police are
searching for him.
51.
AHMET (Limon) ISUFI, nicknamed "Rexha"
Born
on October 1, 1961, in the village of Djuriševci, Municipality of
Kosovska Kamenica. As a member of the "Albanikos" illegal group, he was
sentenced to 9 years in prison in 1983. He was the commander of the KLA
general staff in the Karadak zone, with the headquarters in the Zlaš
village, Municipality of Priština. After the withdrawal of the members
of Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the YA forces from Kosovo
and Metohija, he organized the assas sination of the Serbs from the
territory of the municipalities of Gnjilane, Kosovska Kamenica, Kosovska
Vitina and Novo Brdo, which were committed by the members of the
so-called secret police, Gjumshit Osmani and Nazmi Bekteshi, both from
Gnjilane, together with individuals from the criminal groups who had
arrived from other regions or from the territory of Albania. Only in
Gnjilane itself, over 100 ethnic Serbs were murdered, and Isufi
personally signed the order for planting an explosive device in the
mosque in downtown Gnjilane. He was also engaged in providing aid to the
LAPMB members, recruitment and transfer of the former KLA members to
southern Serbia. He is, also, engaged in the procurement and illegal
arms delivery to the territory of the villages Dobrosin, Muhovac and
Breznica, Municipality of Bujanovac. He was a member of the DSK
presidium, Gnjilane branch, and now, in the capacity of an ABK member,
headed by Ramush Haradinaj, he keeps the post of the minister of labor
and social issues in the Government of Kosovo.
52.
LIRIM (Sadrija) JAKUPI, nicknamed "Nazi" and "Commander of Bujanovac"
Born
on August 1st, 1979, in Vranje. As a political asylum seeker
in Germany, he established contacts with the members of the Albanian
emigration. In mid-1998, he answered the call of the illegal Government
of Kosovo, headed by Bujar Bukoshi, and, via the secret channels, as a
KLA volunteer, arrived in Kosovo and Methohija, where he joined the
armed conflict with the Yugoslav and Serbian security forces on the
territory of the Djakovica Municipality. After the Kumanovo Agreement
was signed, he was engaged in the expulsion of the Serb population from
the territory of Gnjilane and Kosovska Kamenica. In the middle of
February of 2000, together with Shefqet Musliu, he became a member of
the assassination group, formed by the former KLA members, which was to
be the future LAPMB. Within LAPMB, he took part in the preparations and
realization of terrorist acts on the territory of Bujanovac, forming and
training new groups, purchasing and delivering arms and other military
equipment. On a number of occasions, together with Besim Tahiri, in the
border villages of the Bujanovac region, he stopped Albanians he
estimated to be loyal to the Serbian authorities and demanded money from
them. One of them was Ramadan Zymeri, who was harassed and physically
abused by Jakupi. Allegedly for the needs of ANA, he confiscated 5,000
euros from the said individual and a vehicle of the Lada-Niva make.
Other than that, all Albanians who did not support ANA activities in
southern Serbia were obliged, under threats of murder, to hand over to
Jakupi between 2,000 to 5,000 euros. Following LAPMB demilitarization,
which he strongly opposed, he moved to Gnjilane, where he was arrested
by KFOR. After he was released from prison, late in 2002, he traveled to
Switzerland by illegal channels. There, he was appointed one of the
officials of this organization for southern Serbia by ANA top officials.
Toward the end of January 2003, he returned to Kosovo and Metohija, with
the task of establishing terrorist groups intended to carry out armed
attacks on the area of the Municipality of Bujanovac.
53.
JANUZ (Rama) JANUZAJ
Born
on January 1st, 1958, in the village of Ljubožda,
Municipality of Istok. Because of his terrorist activities, he was
sentenced to 10 years in prison. After serving out his sentence,
together with Adem Demaqi and Rexhep Kasumi, he formed a branch of NPK
in Istok. He is one of the founders of KLA in this area and a
participant in a number of clashes with Yugoslav security forces, when
he was wounded. Beside Azem Veseli, Naser Shatri and Naim Gjuraj, he was
a member of the headquarters of the 133rd KLA brigade which, on June 18,
1999, entered Istok and, beside looting Serb property, setting fire to,
and demolishing, the houses, also murdered the remaining Serb
population. Because of his role in the planning and carrying out of
ethnic cleansing on the territory of Istok, he was appointed president
of the so-called Interim Administrative Council of that Municipality.
Together with Naser Shatri who, at the same time, was appointed
commander of the local police, he committed a series of murders (of
Momčilo Pumpalović, the principal of the highschool in Istok and his
wife Sretena, of Radonja Stojković, from the village of Žač, of Ranko
and Vlasta Nedeljković, from Istok, of Raka Milovanović, from the hamlet
of Opraška, the village of Koš). On that occasion, they exiled a number
of individuals who had previously been mistreated and set fire to their
houses (Danilo and Danica Radičević from the village of Ljubožde, Stojan
Simić, Bora Ristić, Risto Ristić and Vukić Ristić, all from Ljubožde, as
well as Milan Ljušić, from Istok). Under their command, the Orthodox
graveyards in Istok and the neighboring villages were desecrated and
damaged, while the Orthodox churches were mined (Osojani, the priests
residences in Istok and Djurakovac, while the church in Pećka Banja was
partly damaged). Januzi is currently the president of Ramush Haradinaj’s
ABK for that area. He takes part in the operations of the municipal and
regional work groups for the return of the refugees and the displaced
persons which were established by UNMIK administration.
54. BASHKIM (Rifat) JASHARI
Born
on November 15th, 1977, in the village of Donje Prekaze,
Municipality of Srbica. Adem Jashari’s nephew. At
one time, as the deputy commander of the operational zone of Drenica, he
personally took part in a number of terrorist acts aimed against the
members of the army and the police, carried out on the territory of
Srbica. Following KLA demilitarization, he moved to KPC, where he was
placed in the first RTG. His criminal role in Kosovo and Metohija is
significant, in view of the fact that he is a member of Thaqi’s Drenica
group. He is involved in drugs and arms trafficking, as well as in
extortion and racketeering, where he cooperates with Sami Lushtaku and
Rahman Rama.
55. MUSA (Halit) JASHARI
Born
on June 4th, 1970, in the village of Donje Prekaze,
Municipality of Srbica. Within KLA, he was a member of Adem Jashari’s
terrorist group. At the beginning of the 90s, he underwent diversionary
terrorist training in Albania, and from February 1998 to June 1999, he
trained a group of Albanian women who, as volunteers, joined the KLA
forces in the village of Likovac, Municipality of Srbica. Following KLA
demilitarization, he was appointed member of the KPC general staff. He
is directly connected to the Drenica criminal group, headed by Hashim
Thaqi.
56.
RIFAT (Shaban) JASHARI
Born
on December 1st, 1946, in the village of Donje Prekaze,
Municipality of Srbica. Brother of the terrorist leader Adem Jashari,
living in Germany. Following the demonstrations of the Albanian
separatist in Kosovo and Metohija in the eighties, Rifat Jashari moved
to Germany, where he joined the top officials of NMRK. He was an
organizer of, and a participant in, all significant events intended to
affirm the ideas of Albanian separatism in the international community
and the support for KLA. He was especially engaged in the operation of
the so-called crisis headquarters for Kosovo, which was formed following
an initiative of the Government of Kosovo, headed by Bujar Bukoshi.
Together with Fehmi Lladrovci and Rexha Iberdemaj, he was in charge of
collecting funds, in the Bavarian area, for KLA needs. At the same time,
he transferred the money, and sent KLA members from Germany to Albania,
for training. He was put in charge of the retreat of the terrorists
abroad, after their participation in a terrorist act in K&M. In
connection with this, he provided faked documents and assisted a number
of Albanian terrorists, among them Sami Lushtaku, Osman Ferizi, Lulzim
Jashari and Jakup Nura, and made it possible for them to receive
political asylum in Germany. Rifat Jashari’s significant activities were
focused on the arming of Albanian terrorists. He was engaged in the
smuggling modern arms for the armed forces in K&M. On a number of
occasions, he personally delivered these arms from Germany to the
territory of Albania, whence, via illegal channels, they were
transferred to the territory of K&M. He financially supports Hashim
Thaqi’s party, from the day of its foundation. In recent times, he
occasionally visits Kosmet.
57. SAHIT (Hamit) JASHARI
Born
on February 9th, 1965, in the village of Donje Prekaze,
Municipality of Srbica. Between 1983 and 1996, he was sentenced to a
year of imprisonment, for the statutory rape of a minor. Five additional
criminal charges were brought against him. He was a member of KLA from
the day of its foundation, in 1992. He is suspected of having
participated in a number of terrorist attacks against the members of the
Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs on the territory of Srbica and
beyond. In 1996, the District Court in Priština sentenced him, in
absentia, to 20 years in prison for the criminal acts of terrorism.
Following the assassination of Adem Jashari, from the village of Donje
Prekaze, with a diversionary terrorist group, he illegally arrived in
K&M from Albania, where the group had been gathered for military
training, and commenced the terrorist acts against the members of the
Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs on the territory of Drenica. In May
of the same year, he was appointed warden of the illegal jail in the
village of Likovac where Serbs and Albanians loyal to the Republic of
Serbia were held. In this jail, Domo Smigić, from the village of Leocin,
was killed, while Dostana Šmigić, allegedly, was transferred from
Likovci to the jail in the village of Voćnjak, where all traces of her
were lost. Together with Sylejman Selimi, aka "Sultan", he especially
excelled in the torture and abuse of the prisoners, some of which he
himself killed. Towards the end of June 1998, together with Selimi,
Valdat Rama and Rasim Kiqina, he took Ivan Bulatović and Žarko Spasić
from the prison in Likovac, led them into the forest in the vicinity of
the village of Bajnice and shot them death. The next assassination
committed by the said group occurred in the village of Ovčarevo, when 10
kidnapped persons were killed, mostly workers of the Power Company of
Kosovo. Among the murdered persons were Mirko Buha, Miroslav Trifunović,
Zoran Adžačić, Filip Gojković and a Roma, Brahini, from Srbica, whose
hand was cut off by Sahit Jashari prior to the assassination. In these
assassinations, beside Jashari, the following men took part: Sami
Lushtaku, Xhavit Nuraku, Sylejman Selimi, Rasim Kiqina, Emin Gjinovci,
Afrim Shureci and Valdat Rama. In March 1999, this group kidnapped
Miljan Mitrović, from the village of Mijalić, and killed his father
Radivoje and uncle Ljubiša Mitrović, from the same village. On June 12,
1999 Jashari’s group kidnapped Zvonko Stepić from Kosovo Polje. Two
weeks later, after his parents had paid the ransom, he was released
following Hashim Thaqi’s order, between February 1998 and June 1999,
Jashari was the commander of the special forces in charge of the jail in
the village of Likovac, Municipality of Srbica, where the kidnapped
ethnic Serbs, as well as Albanians loyal to the Republic of Serbia, were
held. Following the arrival of the international forces in K&M, he was
appointed chief of police of the first operative zone of Drenica, with
the headquarters in Srbica, and in July 2002, he was promoted to the
rank of a KPC colonel. In this period, he continued to organize forced
expulsion of non-Albanian population from K&M. One of the priority tasks
which he imposed upon his subordinates in KPC was the making of lists
with the data on the current addresses of individuals who fought against
KLA, with a standing order of killing them the moment they were
available. He maintains contact with Sami Lushtaku, from the village of
Donje Prekaze, Municipality of Srbica, who is in charge of sending
terrorist groups from the territory of Drenica to southern Serbia and
FYROM, where Jashari was engaged in the training of the volunteers who
were to be transferred to the terrorist units in those areas.
58.
NAIM (Halit) KADRIU, alias "Lumi"
Born
on June 6, 1974, in the village of Turučica, Municipality of Podujevo.
He was the head of the secret service on the territory of Podujevo and
Priština and, in June 1999, he was appointed police commander in
Podujevo. Together with Latif Gashi and Nazif Mehmeti, he participated
in the assassination of an operative of the security service of Serbian
Ministry of Internal Affairs, Milić Jović, in Podujevo. He is also
responsible for the arrest of a number of ethnic Serbs and Albanians
(Alush Kastrati, Hatem Jashari, Agim Musliu, Idriz Svarça, Drita
Bunjaku-Voci, Nazmi Rustemi, the Rakovica brothers, Hakim Hoti, Fehmi
Potera, Bexhet Nazifi, Milan Stanković, Drago Tijanić, Osman Sinani, who
was subsequently murdered, Milovan Stanković, Ratko Vićentijević, Visar
Voca, Sabri Berisha, Mirveta Konjushevci, Goran Zbiljić, Čedomir
Blagojević, Živorad Biserčić). He is one of the perpetrators of the
terrorist attacks carried out on August 28, 1996, in the village of
Donje Ljupče, Municipality of Podujevo, where a member of the central
state security forces of Priština, Ejup Bajgora, was assassinated. He is
a secretary of a branch of Hashim Thaqi’s party in Podujevo. In July
2003, by a verdict of the International Court, he was sentenced to 5
years in prison, for the war crimes committed on the territory of
Priština and Podujevo.
59. GINER (Qamil) KAMBERI
Born
on January 3, 1975 in the village of Djelekapa, Municipality of Vitina.
From the end of 1998, he was an active KLA member on the territory of
Drenica, and after the YA forces and the members of the Serbian Ministry
of Internal Affairs were withdrawn from the territory of K&M, he was
engaged as a security officer in the KLA 173rd brigade.
Following KPC formation in Vitina, where he held the rank of a major, he
formed a special secret police department. At the same time, as a member
of the "Black Eagle" terrorist organization, he participated in the
organization and execution of assassinations, harassment and forced
expulsion of ethnic Serbs from the territory of the Vitina Municipality.
During the armed conflict in southern Serbia, he was one of the
commanders of LAPMB in the village of Sefer, Municipality of Preševo.
Toward the end of 2002, he was expelled from KPC, and at this moment, as
an active ANA member, he heads a group of some 20 terrorists in the
village of Djelekare, Municipality of Vitina. Kamberi is included in the
organized arms and drugs trafficking and invested huge amounts of money,
acquired in this manner, into the purchase of Serb property on the
territory of Vitina.
60.
AJVAZ (Behram) KARPUZI
Born
on May 21st, 1956, in the village of Sedlare, Municipality of
Lipljan. He stayed in Albania until 1991 and, after completing his
military training, he left for Western Europe, where he joined Albanian
emigration and became, from 1998 onward, one of the most extreme members
of KLA. He was a member of the headquarters of KLA 121st brigade, as
well as an officer of the "military police", engaged in the planning and
direct conduct of terrorist acts aimed against the members of the
Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the YA forces on the territory
of the villages of Crnoljevo, Lapušnik, Klečka and Magura. In September
1998, the members of the aforementioned unit, carried out a terrorist
act against Milosav Stanišić, from the village of Slovinja, a reserve
police officer of the police station in Lipljan, who suffered a leg
wound. In October of the same year, he took part in the terrorist attack
against Fatmir Qerinaj’s family, from the village of Petrović,
Municipality of Štimlje, a policeman from the station in Lipljan, in the
arrest of two of Tanjug’s journalists and the assassination of several
Albanians loyal to the Republic of Serbia. After June 1999, he organized
ethnic cleansing on the territory of Lipljan and the neighboring
villages. He is one of the organizers of, and the participants in, the
terrorist act carried out on July 23, 1999, in the village of Staro
Gracko, Municipality of Lipljan, in which 14 individuals were killed
(Novica Janićijević, Stanimir Djekić, Božidar Djekić, Miodrag Tepšić,
Andrija Oldalovac, Mile Janićijević, Momčilo Janićijević, Slobodan
Janićijević, Milovan Jovanović, Jovica Živić, Radovan Živić, Saša
Cvejić, Ljubiša Cvejić and Nikola Stojanović).
61.
AJET KASTRATI
Originally from Kišna Reka, Municipality of Glogovac. A former YA
officer, serving at the Glogovac army district. As one of the commanders
of the 121st KLA brigade in Glogovac, he was a member of the
"Plumbi" ("Pigeon") group, headed by Jakup Krasniqi, which encompassed
KLA members from the villages of Lapušnik, Vukovci, Negrovce, Vuk and
Orlat. He organized and handled the training of a number of terrorist
groups in Drenica. He is currently in command of the KPC main logistics
headquarters, with the rank of colonel.
62. KADRI (Ferat) KASTRATI, nicknamed "Daja"
Born
on March 15th, 1960, in the village of Velika Reka,
Municipality of Podujevo. A former non-commissioned officer of the
Yugoslav National Army. In May 1998, he illegally crossed the border
from Albania to K&M where, by the decision of the KLA general stuff, he
was appointed commander in the Lab operative zone. Following his and
Rustem Mustafa’s and Nuredin Ibisi’s order, the terrorist group
"Kastjela" ("Fortress") was formed, headed by Haki Statovci, aka "Lumi",
whose members were active in the ethnic cleansing of the territory of
Priština, as well as in the assassination of the Albanians who had any
connections with the security service of the Republic of Serbia.
Following the withdrawal of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs and
YA forces from K&M, Kastrati was appointed head of the logistics
department of KPC general staff and, at the beginning of May 2001, he
was appointed commander of the 4th RTG KPC, by the KPC
commander, Agim Çeku, with the headquarters in Kosovska Mitrovica.
63.
MENSUR (Ferit) KASUMI
Born
on June 25th, 1966, in the village of Skočna, Municipality of
Vučitrn. He organized a terrorist group in 1998 in the village of
Žilivode, Municipality of Vučitrn, and subsequently formed KLA general
staff for this and 20 other villages in the municipalities of Vučitrn
and Obilić. As the commander of the general stuff, he was engaged in the
promotion of KLA, taking part, at the same time, in terrorist acts,
among which the attack on the strip mining site of the Belaćevac mine,
as well as on the villages of Sibovac and Prilužje, along with a number
of actions against the members of the Serbian Ministry of Internal
Affairs and the YA forces. Because of his engagement within KLA, in 1999
Hashim Thaqi appointed him Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs in the
interim Government of Kosovo.
64. NASER (Meto) KELMENDI
Born
on February 15th, 1957, in Peć. In early 90s, he acquired
great wealth from cigarette smuggling, which is why a number of criminal
charges were brought against him. As one of the richest Albanians, he
was one of the major financiers of KLA activities. Together with Ekrem
Lluka, from Peć, Agim Elshani, from Ozrim, Municipality of Peć, Naser
Shatri, from Istok, and others, Kelmendi belongs to an organized crime
clan headed by Ramush Haradinaj. This group holds a monopoly on drug,
arms, human and cigarette trafficking on the territory of Peć. Two gas
stations and a few boutiques Kelmendi owns on the territory of this
Municipality, only serve as a front for his drugs, oil and oil derivates
trafficking activities. He is the main financier and organizer of the
drug sale, especially cocaine and heroin, which arrive to Peć by bus
from Istanbul and, to a lesser degree, from Albania. The, via Peć and
Rožaje, they are transferred to Novi Pazar and then, finally, to the end
users in the countries of Western Europe. In the first half of 2001,
UNMIK police confiscated Kelmendi‘s and Ekrem Lluka‘s contraband
cigarettes in the "Dukadjini" zone of operations, in the village of
Zahać, Municipality of Peć in the amount estimated at thousands of
German marks. Lluka and Kelmendi, in cooperation with Haradinaj and
Ethem Çeku, directly financed the activities of the Albanian terrorist
groups which, from the territory of Peć, were transferred into southern
Serbia and western FYROM. Kelmendi owns a freight forwarding company in
Sarajevo and has twenty trucks at his disposal for the transport of
goods most of which is located on the territory of Peć. He has a dual
citizenship, of Serbia and Montenego and of B&H. In Sarajevo, he hired a
number of mujahedins as bodyguards. For a couple of months, at the
beginning of 2002, he remained in Sarajevo, worried about his security
in K&M because, at the end of 2001, he had organized an armed attack on
the office of UNMIK’s police located in the Cultural Center in Peć, with
the intention of destroying evidence of his criminal activities.
65. HISNI (Bajram) KILAJ
Born
on December 19th, 1993, in the village of Ljubižda,
Municipality of Orahovac. As the fund manager of the so-called Committee
for Financing the Republic of Kosovo, he made contacts with members of
the NPK illegal organization "Bali Kombetar", PNDS and others. At the
beginning of 1998, together with Fatmir Limaj, Gani Krasniqi and Skender
Krasniqi, he founded a KLA unit for the region of Mališevo and, as one
of the commanders of the 122nd KLA brigade, took part in the
attacks on the members of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs and
the YA forces, as well as on the Serb and Albanian civilians. He
committed terrorist acts in coordination with Jakup Krasniqi, Rame Buja,
Sokol Bashota and Sylejman Selimi. Together with Limaj, he organized the
assassination of a few dozen ethnic Serbs and Montenegrins at the
infamous execution site in the village of Klečka, Municipality of
Lipljan. After the Kumanovo Agreement was signed, following orders of
DPK top officials, he was engaged in taking over the local authorities
and was the head administrator in Mališevo. He is the president of that
party’s branch in Mališevo.
66.
ANTON (Ton) KITAJ
Born
on April 20th, 1978, in the village of Budisavci,
Municipality of Klina. In 1998 he joined the terrorist group which,
together with Pal Merditaj, was led by his brother Gjon, aka Vilson
(born on April 2nd, 1976). They carried out their tasks as
members of the 112th brigade, commanded by Gani Thaqi. The Kitaj
brothers, even prior to the establishment of KLA, were well known as
individuals prone to criminal activities, i. e., they were involved in
blackmail, arms smuggling, theft, robbery and the like. On May 19, 1998,
the group they belonged to killed Dalibor Lazarević, a minor from the
village of Veliko Kruševo and, in August 1998, they kidnapped Barllec
Colij and his son Niko, from the village of Zlokućane. They continued
their criminal activities after the arrival of KFOR and UNMIK to K&M,
cleansing the non-Albanian population, looting and burning the houses
and destroying the graveyards in the villages of Naglavke and Budisavci.
On June 19, 1999, the Kitaj brothers, Anton and Gjon, killed the
brothers Radosav and Dušan Dašić, from the village of Rudice,
Municipality of Klina. With their group, on July 19th 1999,
they kidnapped the monk, Stefan (Gradimir Puljić),
from the monastery of Budisavci and Vujadin Vujović, a teacher from the
village of Stup, Municipality of Klina, whose bodies, together with the
bodies of 20 other Serbs, were later found in a well in Istok. Gjon
Kitaj also killed Zorka Šiljković, from the village of Rudica. In June
1999, the same group kidnapped a number of persons whose destiny remains
unknown. They are: Mihajlo Dašić, his sons Milutin and Dragan, and
Jovanka Dašić, all from the village of Rudica, Municipality of Klina,
and Milena Dončić and her son Ilija, Cveta Djordjević, from the village
of Bič, as well as Radivoje, Jovana and Radojica Vidić, from the village
of Klinavac, Municipality of Klina. Anton Kitaj, together with his
cousin Frok Kitaj, following orders by Naser Shatri, in July of 2000,
kidnapped and later killed Shaban Manaj. The Kitaj family, headed by
Anton and Gjon, is one of the leading criminal groups that controlls the
area between Klina and Istok. Armed members of this family, posing as
members of ANA, control all persons moving through the area, ask for
their ID cards. They are also involved in the trafficking of arms and
stolen vehicles.
67.
FADHIL (Shaqir) KODRA
Born
on November 19th, 1965, in the village of Donje Prekaze,
Municipality of Srbica. Due to his participation in a number of
terrorist acts against the members of the Serbian Ministry of Internal
Affairs and YA forces, he was sentenced, in absentia, to 20 years in
prison in 1997. Towards the end of 1998, together with Sami Lushtaku, he
performed the function of a Deputy Commander of the 112th
"Fehmi Lladrovci" brigade, in charge of leading the military, special
and local police forces. After that, he became commander of the special
units for the operations zone of Drenica. Towards the end of August
2002, the members of the international forces in K&M searched his house
in the Kodra district, the village of Donje Prekaze and discovered
firearms and ammunition. He is connected with the members of the Drenica
criminal group, headed by Hashim Thaqi. He is currently at the post of
the Commander of the Information Division G-2, within the 4th
RTG of KPC.
68.
ARIF (Qamil) KRASNIQI, aka "Mujo"
Born
on April 9th, 1971, in the village of Sibovac, Municipality
of Obilić. In Germany he joined an extremist emigrant organization and
made contacts with the members of the illegal organization PMKL. He
arrived in K&M in 1998 and became one of the top KLA officials. In the
region of Čičavica he formed a terrorist group called "Hakaret". He took
active part in the kidnapping of Dragan Vukmirović, Zoran, Dušan and
Petar Adžandžić, Filip Gojković, Marko Buha, Miroslav Trifunović,
Srboljub Savić and Božidar Alimpić, an employee of the Belaćevac mine on
June 22, 1998, as well as of Žarko Spasić, who was kidnapped on May 14,
1998.
69. GANI (Selman) KRASNIQI
Born
on November 23rd, 1950, in the village of Crni Lug,
Municipality of Klina. He is one of the founders of the illegal
organization PNDS for the area of Mališevo, Municipality of Orahovac. As
the commander of the 122nd KLA brigade, within the operative
zone of Paštrik, with the headquarters in the village of Mališevo, he
organized groups that committed terrorist acts. In July 1998, he took
part in the kidnapping of some 50 persons from the territory of
Orahovac, who are believed to have been killed and thrown into the
limekiln in the village of Klečka, Municipality of Lipljan. The unit
Krasniqi commanded performed its tasks in coordination with Fatmir
Limaj’s unit, and Krasniqi’s closest collaborators at that time were
Hisni Kilaj, from the village of Ljubižda, Municipality of Orahovac,
Sokol Bashota, from Cerovik, Municipality of Klina, Alush Agushi, from
the village of Drenovac, Municipality of Klina, Fadil Gashi, from
Čupevo, Hallit Krasniqi, from Iglarevo, Gjemal Gashi, aka "Cerman”, from
Grebnika, and others. After the withdrawal of the Serbian Ministry of
Internal Affairs and YA forces from the territory of K&M, Krasniqi,
leading his group, continued terrorist activities, intercepting
vehicles, kidnapping and murdering ethnic Serbs. At the same time, as a
member of Hashim Thaqi’s DPK party, he was elected president of the
Municipality Mališevo at the first elections.
70. GJIMSHIT (Riza) KRASNIQI
Born
on December 12th, 1963, in the village of Leskovac,
Municipality of Prizren. He was the main perpetrator of the terrorist
acts in the region of Prizren from 1994, as a member of the terrorist
organization PMKL. Following orders from PMKL, he formed a terrorist
group in 1996 and, at the time of the attempt to arrest him, in March
1998, he managed to escape to Albania. Together with Xhevat Berisha and
Hajrim Çengaj, he formed KLA headquarters in the village of Jeskovo,
Prizren, and became one of the top officials of the headquarters. He was
engaged in organizing the training and illegal transfer of arms. In the
clash with a patrol of the YA forces and of the Serbian Ministry of
Internal Affairs, in July of 1998, his group killed the YA officer,
Bojan Denić, and seriously wounded the policeman Rustem Agushi. During
the armed conflict, Krasniqi carried out oral and written commands of
KLA so-called Court Martial responsible for the assassination of ethnic
Serbs and for the destruction of their property on the territory of
Prizren. The aforementioned court martial was headed by Sokol Dobruna,
from Djakovica, and Ilaz Kadolli, from Suva Reka. Beside Krasniqi, the
group for the assassination of the Serbs also included Elbasan Shoshaj,
from the village of Leskovac, and an individual who goes by the nickname
of "Uli". Krasniqi, among other things, is responsible for the
assassination of Sezair Skenderi’s family of four, from Prizren.
Following the establishment of KPC, he was promoted to one of the top
positions for the territory of Prizren and, at the same time, he was in
charge of the so-called Secret Service of Kosovo on the same territory,
responsible for ethnic cleansing and assassination of the members of the
local Serb and other non-Albanian population. The top KPC officials
placed him in charge of illegal transfer of arms and other military
equipment from Albania for the needs of ANA in FYROM and in southern
Serbia. At the beginning of 2002, he was arrested by KFOR and spent some
two weeks in detention.
71. EMIN (Hazir) KRASNIQI
Born
on July 15th, 1957, in the village of Dajkovac, Municipality
of Kosovska Kamenica. He is a DPK representative in Kosovo’s Parliament.
In 1981 he formed, on the territory of the Municipality of Kosovska
Kamenica, the illegal "Albanikos" group, which earned him a prison
sentence of 14 years in prison, of which he served nine. As a KLA
member, he completed his military training in Albania and, after his
return to K&M, he participated in the conflicts with the members of the
YA and the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Karadak zone of
operations. Following the withdrawal of the Serbian Ministry of Internal
Affairs and of YA forces from K&M, as KLA’s commander for the
Municipality of Kosovska Kamenica, he was the one who issued orders for
the forced expulsion of the non-Albanian population from this
Municipality. Later, he became one of the top officials of the 6th RTG
of KPC, with the headquarters in Gnjilane. During the time of LAPMB’s
activities on the territory of southern Serbia, Krasniqi organized young
Albanians and sent them to this organization. Ridvan Qazimi, aka
"Commander Leshi", stayed in his house in the village of Dajkovac, for a
long time and made daily trips to the "security zone". Because of the
authority he has over Hashim Thaqi, Krasniqi controls certain criminal
activities (arms smuggling and racketeering), coordinating, at the same
time, the appearance of ANA members on the territory of Kosovska
Kamenica Municipality.
72.
JAKUP (Januz) KRASNIQI
Born
on January 1st, 1951 in the village of Nergovac, Municipality
of Glogovac. Sentenced in 1982 for his activities within NPK. He is one
of the ideologists and founders of KLA on the territory of Drenica and
of the unit called "Plumbi" ("Dove"), which he commanded. In the KLA
general staff for K&M he was a spokesman and a member of KLA’s political
directorate for K&M so that he was acquainted with the activities of the
KLA members in the field of kidnapping, assassinations, physical abuse
of Serb population and with other activities. He took part in organizing
and kidnapping of ethnic Serbs from Orahovac during the month of July
1998, in their maltreatment, rape and massacre in the village of Klečka,
where the charred remains of their bodies were found. Beside this, he
directly participated in the attack on the village of Iglarevo,
Municipality of Klina. He is now secretary general of Hashim Thaqi’s DPK
and the minister of public services in the Government of Kosovo.
73. SKENDER (Nezir) KRASNIQI
Born
on January 29th, 1959, in Orahovac. As a volunteer from
Germany, he joined the KLA units in K&M in 1998 and became the Commander
of the 122nd KLA brigade for a few villages in the Paštrik
zone of operations. His family estate, in the village of Vojnik, was
used as the headquarters of that brigade and as one of the secure places
for sheltering volunteers and arms. The aforementioned brigade was
enlarged when a terrorist group from the village of Drenovac, which was
later named "Gani Paqarizi", joined them in August 1998. As a member of
the 122nd brigade, commanded by Gjelal Gashi, aka "Djerman",
while its police was headed by Fatmir Limaj, Krasniqi committed a number
of crimes on the territory of Orahovac and Mališevo against the Serbs
and the Albanians who refused to join KLA. on May 17, he took part in
the attack on the police and army forces in the vicinity of Orahovac
1998 and in the kidnapping of 50 Serbs and Montenegrins from that
territory. They were subsequently tortured and murdered on a hill over
the village of Zatrić, Municipality of Orahovac. He is also responsible
for the murder of Hasan Morina, from the village of Senovac, Muram
Rustemi, from the village of Drenovac, Hidaj Popaj, from the village of
Bela Crkva and Hisen Krasniqi, from the village of Danjane, as well as
for the attack on the village of Bela Crkva and the murder of Sveta
Tomić, the director of Jugobanka from Djakovica (the direct perpetrators
of this crime were Isuf Gashi, Bedri Zuberaj and the members of Gani
Paqarizi family). Together with Enver Hoti, from the village of Crni
Lug, Municipality of Klina, he was accused of kidnapping and murdering
of Branko Staletić and his son Ranko, from the village of Mlečani. He is
currently one of KPC commanders for the territory of Mališevo.
74.
BAJRAM (Nevzad) KRYEZIU
Born
on January 30, 1955, in the village of Rogačica, Municipality of
Kosovska Kamenica. As a member of the KLA general staff for the Karadac
zone, and the KLA commander for the village of Rogačica, he was one of
those who issued orders for the assassination and kidnapping of the
Serbs on the territory of the Municipality of Kosovska Kamenica. He
organized the murder of Stojan Tasić, from the village of Čarakovac and
of the policeman Trajan Trajković, from the village of Kololač,
Municipality of Kosovska Kamenica, while the actual perpetrators of the
crime were members of his terrorist group acting on the territory of
this Municipality. Beside that, he organized and executed terrorist
attacks on police checkpoints in the village of Končulj, Municipality of
Bujanovac, and planned a series of terrorist attacks on the police
stations in Bujanovac and Preševo. Following the withdrawal of the
members of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the YA forces
from the Municipality of Kosovska Kamenica in July 1999, he organized a
parade of the KLA members in the villages inhabited by the Albanian
population, aiming to demonstrate the power of this organization. After
KPC was formed, he became the spokesman for the 6th RTG in Gnjilane and
was also in charge with the coordination of cooperation with the members
of the international community on the territory of the Municipality of
Kosovska Kamenica. As a lieutenant colonel of KPC, together with the
members of ANA, he carefully watched the terrain in the Municipality of
Bujanovac and followed the activities of the police force, with the
intention of carrying out new terrorist attacks in that region.
75. MAZLOM (Alija) KUMNOVA
Born
on March 17th, 1946, in Djakovica. In October 1993, he was
sentenced to five years imprisonment by the District Court in Peć. On
August 25, 1998, criminal charges were brought against Kumnova and 97
members of the terrorist group from Djakovica by the district public
prosecutor’s office. At the beginning of the 90s, together with Bajram
Mehmeti, Nasim Zeka, Nur Murtezi and Lulzim Shasivari, he was engaged in
the organization of Albanian paramilitary units thus forming an illegal
national defense headquarters where he performed the duties of a deputy
commander of the headquarters, in charge of the rear lines and finances.
In the terrorist base in the village of Jablanica, he was engaged in the
formation of a city guerilla and, together with Sokol Dobruna, he
organized the illegal transfer of a large number of arms and other
military equipment from Albania. In April and May 1999, on the territory
of Djakovica, in the Čabrat settlement, following his direct
instructions, Hekuran Hoda and Abdulah Babalija committed a number of
criminal acts in which three member of the police and army forces were
killed and a dozen suffered slight wounds. After the arrival of KFOR,
Kumnova proclaimed himself to be the "first mayor of liberated
Djakovica". He is currently the president of ABK branch in the same
city.
76. MIRSAD (Jusuf) KURTESHI, alias "Dubula"
Born
on July 1st, 1975, in Priština. He was one of the most active
KLA members in this city. As a member of the terrorist group headed by
Abedin Sogojeva, one of the top officials of the KLA secret police for
the Obilić region he took part in the massacre of seven ethnic Serbs in
the village of Mazgit, Municipality of Obilić in June 1999 and in the
destruction of a dozen or so Serb houses in Obilić in November of that
same year. Between 1999 and 2000, he was involved in the terrorist
activities of the group headed by Arif Krasniqi, aka "Muja". He took
part in the murder of the Rapajić family from Obilić, on December 28,
2000, together with Kadri Sulejmani, aka "Mouse”, a member of the KLA
secret police, with Sabit Lladrovci, a former KLA member, now engaged in
the 1st RTG of KPC, with Muhamet Çerkezi, aka "Çerkez", a member of
LAPMB, and Ahmet Çerkezi and already mentioned Sogojeva. Together with
the above listed individuals he planted explosives in the Kastelo
restaurant in Obilić, where the Serb population congregates. He is
connected with the murder of Miladija Stanojević, the harassment of
ethnic Serbs, KPS members (for example Tanja Mihajlović from Priština),
with the destruction and plunder of Serb property in that region, as
well as with physical abuse (Stojka Stojanović, Muhamed Limaj, Tomica
Antić, Novica Ilić, Milenko Mihailović and others). Because of the said
activities, he was arrested by KFOR and UNMIK police on a number of
occasions.
77. AGIM (Latif) KUQI
Born
on October 7th, 1963, in Suva Reka. In June 1998, together
with Blerim Kuqi, Naim Berisha, Osmani Elshani, aka "Shlafi", and a
certain Nusret from Samodreža, he formed a terrorist group on the
territory of the Reštane village, in the Suva Reka Municipality. Agim
and Blerim Kuqi managed the main KLA headquarters for the villages of
Opteruša and Zočiste, situated in the village of Dobrodeljane, in the
Suva Reka Municipality. Following their orders, they illegally purchased
arms and ammunition. Kuqi’s group, on the Suva Reka – Orahovac route,
better known as the Restansi road, wounded the policeman Milorad
Nešković and murdered Sadriu Kryeziu from Suva Reka. In the middle of
July 1998, under his command, 16 Serbs were kidnapped from Opteruša and
Zočiste and were subsequently taken to the Drenovac village while their
houses, along with the houses of other Serbs in those villages, were
burned to the ground. Following the action of the members of the Serbian
Ministry of Internal Affairs and the YA forces in the region of Suva
Reka, Agim, Blerim and Ruzhdi Kuqi and Osmani Elshani, aka "Shlafi",
fled to Albania and joined FARK.
78. RAMIZ (Muhamet) LLADROVCI
Born
on January 3rd, 1966, in the village of Gladno Selo,
Municipality of Glogovac. In the middle of 1993, he spent some time in
Albania where he was engaged in organizing of military training for
individuals who, having completed the training, were sent to K&M, with
the purpose to carry out diversionary terrorist activities. At the end
of the same year, he went to Germany where he joined and was active in
the work of NMRK, primarily in the field of arms, ammunition and
military equipment acquisition, which he transferred to K&M and sent to
his brother Fehmi, one of the most influental KLA commanders in the
Drenica region (killed in 1998). For KLA needs, he recruited young
Albanians who were employed in Germany and other Western Europe
countries. After the Serbian security forces withdrew, he came to K&M,
where he was immediately accepted into KPC and appointed deputy
commander of the National Guard within this formation. Throughout 2001,
he was engaged in providing logistic support to LAPMB members, as well
as to Albanian terrorists active on the territory of the Republic of
Macedonia. He used his high position in KPC to acquire financial
benefits. His associates accuse him of embezzling huge amounts of money
from the funds collected by the Albanian emigrants as aid to KLA and
later KPC formations. Because of his connection with the terrorist
organizations, he was placed on the American "black list" of
organizations that have restricted access to financial aid, i.e., of the
individuals who are forbidden to enter the US. Also, he is also banned
from all activities of KPC for a year.
79.
FATMIR (Kadri) LIMAJ, alias "Steel"
Born
on February 4th, 1971, in the village of Banja, Municipality
of Suva Reka. From 1992 to 1994, he was engaged in the illegal
organization PMKL. Toward the end of 1995 he joined KLA where, under the
command of Rexhep Selimi, he was in charge of identifying individuals
who were collaborating with the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs and
of carrying out all preparations for the terrorist acts against the Serb
security forces in Mališevo and Orahovac. In 1996, together with Selimi,
he planned and attempted to murder Shukri Krasniqi, from the village of
Banja, and Vesel Pintolij, from the village of Temećin, Municipality of
Suva Reka. During 1998, he was the commander of the camp in the village
of Lapušnica, Glogovac Municipality, where, in the period between June
22 and July 25 of the same year, 22 individuals were held and,
physically abused and murdered. Among the victims were Milovan and
Miodrag Krstić, Boban Mitrović, Živorad Krstić, Stamen Genov, Djordje
Djuk and Siniša Blagojević. He was the initiator and direct participant
in the capture and abuse of ethnic Albanians and Serbs and he
demonstrated special brutality in his direct participation in the
genocide against the civilians, since, following his orders, in the
limekiln in the village of Klečka, Municipality of Lipljan, over 50
individuals were burned. He was the organizer and perpetrator of the
attack on Orahovac on July 17, 1998, when over 50 people were kidnapped,
of whom 40 are still listed as missing. At the beginning of October
1999, the group headed by Fatmir Limaj kidnapped, in front of a number
of citizens, Ramiz Hoxha, in the Belanica village, because he had
allegedly negotiated with the members of the Serbian Ministry of
Internal Affairs the return of Albanian refugees from the village of
Banja to their homes. Ramiz Hoxha was later murdered. Together with
Rexhep Selimi, he founded the "Falcon’s Eye" group which, beside
terrorist activities (primarily murder), was involved in the arms and
drug trafficking, racketeering, organized prostitution and the like.
These activities were carried out in collaboration with the members of
the crime clans composed of the Elshani and Kolaku families, from Suva
Reka region. For a certain time period, Limaj was in the position of
Kosovo’s deputy defense minister only to be arrested by Slovenian police
on February 17, 2003, and taken to the Scheveningen jail, having been
indicted by the Hague Tribunal for crimes against humanity and the
violation of the laws and customs of war (for killing civilians in the
jail located in the Lapušnik village). From the top echelons of DPK, an
initiative was launched to form a special fund for the defense of Fatmir
Limaj, one of the most trusted associates of that party’s president,
Hashim Thaqi. The initiative was delivered to the Government of Kosovo.
The initiative suggests that, from the budget of the Government of
Kosovo, two million euros be taken for the said purpose. At the same
time, pressure was exerted on the owners of companies and shops to
contribute between a hundred and a thousand euros for the same purpose.
80. EKREM (Kurtesh) LLUKA, aka "Vuka"
Born
on October 11th, 1959, in Peć. In 1992, as the owner of the
Dukadjini printing house in Peć, he helped make a seal for the
elementary and secondary schools in the Albanian language with the
inscription reading "Kosovo Republic”. Lluka diversified his business
activities in the second half of the 90s, thanks to his association
with, and the financial support to, Sellim Shabani and Salli Nimani. He
is currently one of the financially most powerful people in the province
and the owner of a number of companies on the territory of K&M and
abroad. Among other things, he owns a cigarette factory, a brewery, a
radio and television station. Also, a chain of restaurants and hotels
and a basketball team. He is one of the main financiers of Albanian
terrorists in Kosovo and Metohija and, towards the end of the 90s, he
provided close to two million euros for their needs. Recently he was
allegedly forced to pay the racket amounting to around 100,000 euros a
month. He is involved in trafficking of cigarettes, in oil and oil
derivates, and motor vehicles, and is included in drugs and arms
trafficking (via the network in Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece, FYROM, Serbia
and Montenegro, Albania, Italy and Germany). At the same time, he
controls the Serbian–Albanian mafia and trade along the
Priština-Belgrade-Priština route. His closest associates in these
operations are Isa Balaj and Alli Haskaj. Considerable profits are
gained by trafficking in women from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and
Slovakia, who are later forced into prostitution. He is involved in
"money laundering" activities, for which he uses his companies
"Albatroniks" and "Dukadjini". Via the "Albatroniks" company, a certain
amount of money has been transferred and paid into the accounts of
certain Islamic non-governmental organizations, which are suspected of
being connected with the Islamic fundamentalists in Syria. Ekrem’s
brother, Agim Lluka, is a co-owner of the "Albatroniks" company which
carries out the largest part of the smuggled cigarettes trade. Beside
that, Ekrem Lluka uses EMK Petrol for transporting weapons and military
equipment through Albania to FYROM. He is very close with the members of
the Haradinaj family and he conducts his activities in collaboration
with and following the authorization of Hashim Thaqi and Ramush
Haradinaj, and is closely connected with Agim Çeku and Arben Xhaferi,
the leaders of the terrorist groups in FYROM. Ekrem Lluka’s connections
with the Elshani family are especially indicative. It is a family which,
among other criminal activities, is involved in serious threats to, and
elimination of, Ramush Haradinaj’s political rivals. Towards the end of
October 2002, the members of the Italian police, while trying to cut the
main cigarette smuggling routes in K&M, searched Lluka’s business
premises (cigarette plant in Zahać) and, on that occasion, seized around
280 tons of cigarettes, while Ekrem Lluka and Naser Kelmendi were taken
into custody and later released to await trial.
81. ISA (Bajram) LATIFI
Born
on August 25th, 1964, in the village of Štedim, Municipality
of Podujevo. Carrying out the orders of top KLA commanders on the
territory of the operative zone of Lab to murder certain ethnic Serbs in
Podujevo, on June 23, 1999, he killed Slobodan Mirović and, three days
later, Sreten Živković. Two months later, together with Fehmi Jakupi and
Samet Arifi, he killed Srbislav Djukić, from the village of Glavnik, and
Radovan Djindjić, from Podujevo.
82.
MUHAMET (Braim) LATIFI
Born
on May 26th, 1955, in the village of Polatna, Municipality of
Podujevo. He was one of the organizers of KLA for the Podujevo region
and the whole Lab zone. During 1998 and 1999, he carried out duties of
the commander of the so-called territorial defense of Kosovo and, after
KPC was formed, he was appointed military police commander of the 5th
RTG. In the second half of 1999, he headed so-called 2nd
group of KLA’s police in the region of Priština, with 46 members
situated in a building belonging to the Catholic church. This group was
in charge of the camp where Serb prisoners were held, located in the
village of Gornja Lapaštica, in the hamlet of Žergovo. There, Latifi and
with three members of his group murdered Miroslav Milačić from Podujevo,
Branko Marković and Branko Djukić from Priština, and Jovica Kordić, from
Vučitrn. Following Daut Rexhepi’s orders, from the Corps for the Defense
of Kosovo, in mid-1999, Latifi planted explosives in the market place in
the village of Bresje, Municipality of Kosovo Polje, on which occasion
two Serbs were killed and some 40 persons were wounded. Moreover, in the
second half of 1999, he was in charge of overseeing the area between
Merdare and Podujevo, where he headed a terrorist group, the socalled
Assassination Guard, which was formed in order to carry out attacks on
the local non-Albanian population. Organizing some kind of illegal
customs authority on the territory under his control, he banned the
import of goods produced in Serbia and demolished each shop that sold
them. This "customs authority" imposed tax on the illegal felling of
state and privately owned forests (whose owners were Serbs), in the
amount of 5 DM per cubic meter.
83. LULZIM (Azir) LECI, alias "Gjagji"
Born
on February 23rd, 1974, in the village of Gminac,
Municipality of Kosovska Kamenica. He was an assistant commander of
KLA’s Karadak zone and a member of KLA headquarters for the Municipality
of Kosovska Kamenica. In 1999, these headquarters were located in his
house, in the village of Gminac, where a large amount of weapons was
also stored. He managed a group of 15 KLA members which carried out a
few murders and set a large number of houses on fire in the villages of
Oraovica, Firiceji and in Kosovska Kamenica itself. Also, he organized
an attack on the Bogdanović couple (Milutin and Taska), in the village
of Kriljevo, Municipality of Kosovska Kamenica, in August 2000. While
LAPMB was active in southern Serbia, he organized the transfer of
terrorists from K&M into LAPMB and, on a number of occasions, he stayed
in the security zone. He is currently in the position of an adviser in
the Ministry of Labor and Social Policies in the Government of Kosovo.
84.
AFRIM (Hallit) LULAJ, alias "Abu Musem"
Born
on September 12th, 1974, in the city of Osek Hilja,
Municipality of Djakovica. He was a member of the infamous "Abu Bekir
Sidik" unit composed of foreign mercenaries – mujahedins and the most
extreme Albanian terrorists from K&M. Within this unit, Lulaj headed the
branch in the village of Smonica. He took part in the organization and
implementation of terrorist attacks against the members of the Serbian
Ministry of Internal Affairs and the YA forces, on the Čabrat hill, over
Djakovica, on the Djakovica-Dečani route.
85.
NUREDIN (Jetulah) LUSHTAKU
Born
on February 27th, 1967, in the village of Donje Prekaze,
Municipality of Srbica. Because of his terrorist activities, he was
sentenced, in absentia, to 20 years in prison in 1997. From 1991, he was
a member of Adem Jashari’s terrorist group and took part in a large
number of terrorist acts on the territory of Drenica and other parts of
K&M. Beside other activities, he took part in the attack on a police
convoy in the Ludović village, Municipality of Srbica, in 1997, and
together with a group of terrorists from the village of
Lauša, Municipality of Srbica, he was a perpetrator of the assassination
of Sefer Zani, from the village of Poljance. After Adem Jashari’s murder
in 1998, Lushtaku was appointed commander of KLA headquarters in the
village of Donje Prekaze and a member of KLA general staff for the
operative zone of Drenica. He maintained close connections with Sami
Lushtaku, Sahit and Musa Jashari, Fadhil Kodra, Jetulah and Sabit Gecaj
and others. During his stay in the village of Likovac, he took part in
the harassment and abuse of the Serb prisoners. In the period between
1998 and June 1999, he supervised terrorist activities on the territory
of the aforementioned operative zone, carrying out the orders of Sami
Lushtaku, Hashim Thaqi and Sylejman Selimi, aka "Sultan", the then
acting KLA commander for the Drenica region. After the establishment of
KPC, Thaqi appointed him commander of the 114th brigade of
the 1st RTG in Drenica. After Sami Lushtaku was removed from KPC, Thaqi
maintained his influence over the said organization by appointing
Nuredin Lushtaku commander of the guard, with the headquarters in
Prizren. He is a member of the illegal terrorist group called the
"Falcon’s Eye" and, together with a group of terrorists from the Drenica
region, he took part in a large number of attacks against the members of
the police and the YA forces on the territory of Bujanovac and Preševo.
He occasionally stays on the territory of FYROM, providing assistance to
the local terrorists. At the previous elections in K&M, following Sami
Lushtaku’s and Thaqi’s orders, he intimidated Albanians in the Drenica
region who opposed Thaqi’s policies.
86. SAMI (Malazim) LUSHTAKU
Born
on February 20, 1961, in the village of Donje Prekaze, Municipality of
Srbica. By a verdict of the District Court in Priština, he was
sentenced, in absentia, to 20 years of imprisonment for his criminal
acts of terrorism. Together with Adem and Hamza Hasari, Fadil and
Nuredin Lushtaku, Sylejman and Rexhepi Selimi, Tahir Jashari and Jakup
Nura, he is one of the founders of KLA in the Drenica region. He
completed his military training in Albanian and, in 1997, took part in
the abuse and the massacre of the Serb civilians who were kidnapped and
held in a camp situated in the Likovac village, Municipality of Srbica.
He was a perpetrator of a terrorist attack on a police station in the
Rudnik village, Municipality of Srbica, in 1998, as well as on a police
convoy in the village of Ludović, Municipality of Srbica. In that
period, he was appointed Deputy Commander of the KLA General Staff for
the Drenica zone of operations, with the headquarters in the village of
Likovac, Municipality of Srbica, and for a certain period of time he
carried out the duties of the commander of this operative zone. Later,
Hashim Thaqi appointed him Commander of the 2nd operative zone in the
Prizren region (Paštrik). At the same time, he was elected Deputy Head
of the Kosovo’s Secret Service where, among other duties, he was in
charge of engaging volunteer units from Drenica, which were sent to the
region of the Bujanovac, Preševo and Medvedja municipalities, in order
to carry out terrorist acts. Due to the increased terrorist activities
the consequence of which is a destabilized security status in K&M and
following the initiative of the representative of the US administration,
on July 6, 2001, Lushtaku was fired from his position of the KPC
Commander and is prohibited from carrying firearms. For violating this
prohibition, he was taken into custody by KFOR for questioning. After
that, he left the region of the Srbica Municipality, fearing the
arrested for his criminal and terrorist activities during and after the
armed conflict, and spent the larger part of 2002 in Albania, in the
city of Kuks. His family is one of the most influential in the Drenica
region and works closely with Hashim Thaqi, Rexhep and Sylejman Selimi
and Xhavit Halliti, playing a significant role in the organized crime in
K&M. He is on the American "black list" of organizations and individuals
who, because of their terrorist activities, have restricted access to
financial aid, i.e., who are not allowed to enter the US.
87. ENVER (Demo) MAVRIQI
Born
on January 23rd, 1961, in the village of Firiceje,
Municipality of Kosovska Kamenica. Until 1990 he worked as a policeman
in the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs. On behalf of the KLA
General Staff for the Kosovska Kamenica region, he led a group of 15 KLA
members, whose task was to form checkpoints where passengers and
vehicles were searched, and certain Serbs and Albanians were taken
prisoner. In the KLA General Staff situated in the dormitory of the
secondary school in Kosovska Kamenica, he personally took part in the
physical abuse of a large number of Albanians who were suspected of
collaborating with the state bodies of the Republic of Serbia. Beside
that, on June 28, 1999, he ordered the Serbs from the village of
Firiceje to abandon their homes, threatening them that otherwise they
would be killed. In July 1999, he ordered the burning of all Serb houses
in the said village. In the same period, he kidnapped, and subsequently
murdered Živorad Stojanović, a policeman from the Firiceje village.
Throughout 2000, he organized KLA police in Kosovska Kamenica and acted
as its commander, using the premises of a usurped apartment whose owner
was an ethnic Serb. He was also included in organizing the members of
LAPMB on the territory of Kosovska Kamenica and their transport to the
ground security zone. He was arrested by KFOR for illegal possession of
arms and spent some time in the prison in the Bondsteel camp.
88. NAIM (Ramadan) MALOKU, alias "Besnik"
Born
on February 17th, 1958, in the village of Labljane,
Municipality of Peć. A former YNA officer. During his studies at the
Military Academy in Zagreb, Maloku, together with Xhafer Jashari, Fadil
Hakaj, Ramadan Gashi and a group of Albanian soldiers who were doing
military service at the time in Zagreb, formed an illegal organization
called the Movement for the Albanian Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia
(PASRJ). Because of that, in 1985, together with a dozen or so officers,
he was arrested and sentenced to 4.5 years in prison by the military
court. He was pardoned in 1988, after which he moved to Ljubljana. He
joined KLA in 1996 and, two years later, returned to K&M. He was
appointed the Chief of the General Staff of the operative zone Dukadjin
by Ramush Haradinaj, the then acting commander of the aforementioned
zone. Beside training KLA members, he also organized weapons supply from
Albania and, in March 1999, he headed a terrorist group in its attack on
the members of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs Serbia and the
YA forces in the village of Vrelo, Municipality of Istok. Following the
withdrawal of the Serbian security forces from K&M, Maloku took an
active part in the forceful expulsion of the remaining Serbs. During
2000, he formed a new Albanian political party – the Liberal Center of
Kosovo - which later joined Ramush Haradinaj’s Alliance for the Future
of Kosovo, in which Maloku became Vice-President.
89. FATON (Bajram) MEHMETAJ
Born
on January 24th, 1963, in the village of Požare, Municipality
of Dečani. Due to the criminal act of espionage for the Albanian
intelligence service, Mehmetaj was sentenced to 5 years in prison in
1986. He was a member of the KLA general staff in the operative zone of
Dukadjin, where he carried out the duties of the security chief,
maintaining direct contact with Ramush and Daut Haradinaj. He was the
perpetrator in the assassinations of a number of Kosovo Serbs and
Montenegrins, as well as the arrest and physical abuse of civilians in
Metohija. Following the demilitarization of KLA, he was made a member of
the general staff of the 3rd RTG of KPC and the chief of the
intelligence department of G-2 in this zone. He supplied the members of
the intelligence service of Albania with the data of security importance
connected with to the activities and organization of the international
security forces in K&M. In June 2002, together with a group of KPC
members, he was arrested by UNMIK police for a series of murders and
other crimes committed in 1999 against Albanian and non-Albanian
citizens whose bodies were later found close to the Radonjić Lake,
Municipality of Dečani. In July of the same year, he was released from
prison, due to the lack of evidence. He organized the murder of Tahir
Zemaj, a former FARK commander, who came into conflict with the clan of
Ramush Haradinaj. The murder was committed on August 18, 2001. He is one
of the organizers of the delivery of threatening messages addressed to
the Albanians of the well-to-do families in K&M, from whom, in the name
of "protection", huge financial sums were extracted. He is also a member
of the extremists terrorist organization known as "Black Eagles", which
is usually used for the protection of Ramush Haradinaj’s political and
criminal interests, i.e., the organized crime group "Dukadjini".
90. NAZIF (Haradin) MEHMETI, alias "Dini"
Born
on September 20, 1961, in the village of Sajkovci, Municipality of
Podujevo. Until September 1991, he was employed by Kosovo‘s Provincial
Secretariat of Internal Affairs and, after leaving the service, he spent
some time abroad. When he returned to K&M, he was appointed Deputy
Commander of the special KLA units on the territory of the Lab operative
zone and was later engaged in KPS, in the Police Station No. 3 in
Priština. According to the anecdotal evidence, Mehmeti, in his position
of a deputy commander of the special units within the KLA’s 5th
operative zone, together with Latif Gashi and Naim Kadriu, participated
in the murders of an operative of the State Security of the Serbian
Ministry of Internal Affairs, Milan Jović, in Podujevo. The members of
the so-called Lab group, which Mehmeti belonged to, took part in the
attacks on the political opponents, primarily of the DSK members. They
were also involved in the robbery, racketeering of the Albanian
population in that region, as well as in the kidnapping of young
Albanians. They kidnapped Osman Sinani, from the village of Murgule,
Municipality of Podujevo, who was subsequently murdered, as well as
Milovan Stanković, an employee of "Javor" in Podujevo, from the village
of Bečić, Municipality of Merošine, Ratko Vičentijević, from the village
of Donja Dumnica, Visar Voca, Sabri Berisha, Goran Zbiljić, Čedomir
Blagojević and Živorad Biserčić. Nazif Mehmeti is also one of the
perpetrators of the terrorist attack carried out in August 1996, in the
village of Donje Ljupče, Municipality of Podujevo, in which an employee
of the Center of the Serbian State Security of Priština, Ejup Bajgora,
was murdered. In that attack, beside Mehmeti, the other perpetrators
were Latif Gashi, Zahir Pajaziti, from the village of Tutučice, Naim
Kadriu and Shaip Haziri, from the village of Kačikol, Municipality of
Priština. Beside that, he was one of the top officers of an improvised
jail in the village of Gornja Lapaštica, in which Serb and Albanian
prisoners were held. In July 2003, by a verdict of the International
Court, he was sentenced to 13 years in prison, for the war crimes
committed on the territory of Priština and Podujevo.
91.
FADIL (Sadik) MUJOTA, alias "Cubi"
Born on July 17th,
1969, in the village of Malopoljce, Municipality of Štimlje. Prior to
1998, Mujota, together with his father Sadik and his cousin Bajrush,
were engaged in the illegal trade in weapons and ammunition. He was
arrested in 1993, but he soon escaped abroad. He remained in Switzerland
and Germany until 1998, when he returned to Malopoljce and joined KLA,
taking over the command of the terrorist group in that village. This
group was directly subordinated to the KLA General Staff located in the
village of Jezerce, and organized and carried out terrorist attacks on
the Štimlje-Uroševac and Štimlje-Crnoljevo routes, kidnapped and abused
Albanians loyal to the Republic of Serbia (Naim Shabani, from the
village of Vojnovci). Beside that, Mujota illegally crossed the border
with Albania and took part in the acquisition and delivery of weapons
for KLA’s use. Following the withdrawal of the Serbian Ministry of
Internal Affairs and the YA forces from K&M, he continued his terrorist
activities with the intention of ethnically cleansing the non-Albanian
population from K&M. He purchased a number of Gypsy houses on the
Štimlje-Lipljan route and, in mid-June 1999, following his orders, in
the private house of Mujota’s cousin in Štimlje, an improvised jail was
set up for Serbs and Gypsies. After the establishment of KPC, he was
placed in the army barracks in Uroševac. However, after a certain period
of time, he filed an application to be demobilized, since he was not
satisfied with his rank and the treatment he received. Along with Xhabir
Zharku, he heads a criminal group from the village of Malopoljci and is
one of the organizers of the illegal acquisition and resale of narcotics
in the region of Gnjilane. These narcotics arrive in K&M from Albania,
via Tetovo (FYROM). He is involved in the trafficking in human beings
where he collaborates with Jetulah Çari, aka "Guri”, from Suva Reka.
Çari is the owner of a facility in the village of Rečane where a certain
number of girls from Russia, Rumania and Bulgaria are kept. Mujota’s
main connection with the trafficking in human beings is an Albanian
called Balem, from Štimlje, from the Beqaj family.
92. SHEFQET (Esat)
MUSLIU, nicknamed "Adzija"
Born on February 12th,
1963, in the village of Končulj, Municipality of Bujanovac. As a KLA
member in K&M, in 1998, he was engaged in Special Units under the
command of Ramush Haradinaj. During 1999, he took part in the abuse of
the Serbs in Gnjilane, in the interception, illegal arrests, harassment
and looting of the passengers on the Bujanovac-Gnjilane road, above the
village of Dobrosin. At the beginning of 2000, he joined the then formed
group for the assassination of Albanians who lived in the region of
Gnjilane and who refused to cooperate with the terrorists. From December
1999, especially after armed conflicts in southern Serbia were
intensified, with his cousin Junuz Musliu and other associates, he
intercepted vehicles in the vicinity of the village of Dobrosin,
harassed the passengers, illegally arrested and mistreated them,
confiscated vehicles and goods and robbed them of their valuables,
extorted money, allegedly for KLA’s use. After LAPMB was formed, he
managed its headquarters in Dobrosin. With the intention of enlarging
the influence of his organization, he ordered forced mobilization of
able-bodied Albanians, their short-term training and participation in
terrorist actions. He initiated the foundation of the local village
headquarters in the region of Bujanovac and Preševo, which he later
united and placed under his command. At that time, he personally took
part or commanded a number of armed attacks on police positions in the
villages of Dobrosin and Končulj. From October 1999 until March 2001, in
the Bujanovac Municipality, he committed 49 of the most serious criminal
acts. In KPC uniform, together with his associates, he stopped vehicles
moving towards Gnjilane and collected "toll", saying that every Albanian
from Preševo and Bujanovac had to pay the requested sum. He took part in
the terrorist attack on a police patrol in Končulj, on November 23,
1999, when two policemen were wounded, as well as in the action carried
out on February 26, 2000, when, with a group of 11 armed LAPMB members,
he attacked the policemen in the vicinity of the village of Končulj, at
which time two members of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs were
killed. On June 8, 2000, together with Ramadan Zairi and Nasuf Musliji,
he planted four anti-tank mines in the vicinity of the elementary school
in Končulj, on the road towards Dobrosin, when 5 members of the Serbian
Ministry of Internal Affairs were wounded. He organized, on June 22,
2000, the murder of the last remaining Serb residents of the village of
Mali Trnovac and ordered that anti-tank mines be placed on the village
road in Mali Trnovac, and when the explosion went off on November 10,
2000, a member of the police force, Ivica Božinović, was killed. In
2000, together with Lirim Jakupi and Vulnet Ibishi, he extorted 20,000
DM from Junuz Vasufi and seized his car, threatening to burn his house
if he reported the incidents to the police. In this period, the same
group took 2,000 DM by extortion from Naim Rexhepi, the owner of "Ideal
Commerce", and from the owner of "Jeton Trans", in the village of
Dobrosin, 5,000 DM. Towards the end of December 2000, in the company of
Bulnet Ibisi, he stopped the "Madjar-Tours" bus in Končulj, from the
direction of Gnjilane, and harassed the pass engers Reshat Ebibi from
the village of Turije, Municipality of Bujanovac, and an older Albanian
because, allegedly, they had assisted Serbs during the sale of their
property to Albanians. On that occasion, he forcefully took the amount
of 10,000 DM from the passengers. Musliu continued his criminal
activities in 2001 when, with a group of associates, he seized Sabedin
Ibraimi’s jeep. For the confiscated vehicle, the aforementioned
individual received a certificate, along with a threat that he would be
killed if he reported the incident to the police. Although, at the
beginning of 2001 he had declared that he would accept the agreement on
the demilitarization of LAPMB, as the commander of the General Sstaff of
this organization, he ordered its members to hide the greater part of
the weapons in the bunkers and warehouses, and on February 4 of the same
year, he organized an attack on the position of the YA and police force
in Lučani. At the beginning of March, he organized the kidnapping of
four Serbs, who were held in Končulj, as well as the kidnapping and
harassment of Radomir Stojiljković, from Trstenik. After LAPMB was
disbanded, he moved to Gnjilane, but continued to command a group of
terrorists who, following his orders, committed a number of terrorist
acts in the region of southern Serbia. When ANA was formed in southern
Serbia, he was elected its official and, together with Lirim Jakupi, he
organized the activities of a diversionary terrorist group following the
commands of ANA top officials. With the help of the members of his
family in Germany, he initiated the establishment of the so-called
humanitarian fund, "Fatherland Calls", intended for the collection of
funds from the Albanians abroad. He usurped the larger part of those
means for his own personal needs. Until his arrest, he led an extremely
comfortable existence and, in the last two years, in the Gnjilane
Municipality, he bought a house and a few business premises. Although he
possessed the means which he had "acquired" as LAPMB commander, Musliu,
together with Mustafa Xhemajli, was also involved in the smuggling of
arms brought in from Albania and sold on the territory of K&M, the
FYRepublic of Macedonia and southern Serbia. He was put on the American
"black list" of organizations and individuals who, because of their
terrorist activities, have restricted access to financial aid, i.e., who
are forbidden to enter the US. He was arrested on April 12, 2003, by
KFOR and is currently in the military base Bondsteel in the vicinity of
Uroševac.
93.
ISAK (Smajl) MUSLIU, alias "Cerciz"
Born on October 31st,
1970, in the village of Račak, Municipality of Štimlje. After a stay
abroad, he returned to K&M in May 1998 and joined the KLA members in the
Municipality of Štimlje, where he was appointed deputy commander of KLA
general staff in the village of Rance. He belonged to the 121st
"Agim Qelaj" brigade within the operative zone of Paštrik. In the
village of Rance, he organized the recruitment and military training of
new KLA members, as well as the delivery of arms from Albania. Beside
that, he personally interrogated and harassed the kidnapped individuals
(among whom Albanian Hajriz Hajrizi, from the village of Belinac), and
organized attacks on the members of the police and YA forces. Towards
the end of September 1998, together with his unit, he abandoned his
position in the Rance village and retreated into the Lapuštnik village,
Municipality of Drenica, only to be sent, in November of the same year,
to a special terrorist training center organized in Switzerland. After
his return to K&M, he was appointed one of the deputy commanders of the
KLA general staff of the Nerodimlje operative zone, in the village of
Jezerce, Municipality of Uroševac. Following the adoption of the UN
Security Council Resolution 1244, he continued his terrorist activities
as a member of the KPC secret police in Uroševac, where he was one of
the top officials. He was arrested in February 14, 2003, by the members
of the international security forces, together with six like-minded
individuals, and taken to the Bondsteel base, whence he was subsequently
transferred to the Hague, since the indictment of the Hague tribunal has
charged him with a number of crimes against humanity and the violation
of the laws and customs of war committed in 1998.
94. RUSTEM (Musli)
MUSTAFA, alias "Remi"
Born
on February 27th, 1971, in the village of Prepolac,
Municipality of Podujevo. He commenced terrorist activities in 1989,
within the illegal group NMRK, and continued them in 1998, by joining
the KLA general staff for the Lab region, the 5th operative
zone, where he carried out the duties of the deputy commander and later
of the commander of the said zone. Under his command, towards the end of
1998, terror was committed against the Serb population, the members of
the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the YA forces, as well as
against some members of the Albanian population who were murdered,
kidnapped and taken to the prisons located in the villages of Bradaš and
Gornja Lapaštica, while their property was looted and destroyed.
Following the withdrawal of the members of the Serbian Ministry of
Internal Affairs and the YA forces from K&M, he formed terrorist groups
"Skifteri", "BIA" and "Red Hand" whose members conducted ethnic
cleansing, kidnapping and murder of the remaining Serbs in the region of
Priština and Podujevo (the murder of Milan Milovanović, in the village
of Dabovac, Municipality Kuršumlija, as well as the placing of anti-tank
mines on the Kuršumlija-Prepolac road, in November 1999, when three
members of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs were murdered and
five wounded). In September 1999, the KPC commander, Agim Çeku, promoted
him to the rank of major-general and appointed him commander of the 5th
RTG of Lab, and towards the end of 2000, commander of the 6th RTG. These
appointments were intended to initiate organizational and technical
preparations for further terrorist activities in the region of Preševo,
Bujanovac and Medvedja, in view of the fact that, members of LAPMB had
carried out terrorist acts under the direct command of Rustem Mustafa,
in 2000. He abused his high position in KPC to accumulate financial
means some of which were used to finance LAPMB, while he took the rest
for himself. Together with Ismet Bekteshi, he is accused of embezzling
seven million DM from the KSIK aid fund, which he used to finance his
private business activities in Priština. He had close contacts with
Rexhep Veseli and Ellami Bajrami, connected to the narcotics smuggling,
and a member of the Fadil Gumnista mafia organization. Upon his and
Fatmir Humoli’s command, the terrorist group "BIA" committed, an attack
on the Niš-Ekspres bus, when 11 passengers of Serb nationality were
killed on February 16, 2001, in the vicinity of the Livadice village,
Municipality of Podujevo. From June 26, 2001, Mustafa is on the
so-called black list of the US administration, as an individual who is
directly responsible for the instability in K&M and the overall Balkan
region, which is why he was replaced as the commander of the 6th RTG of
KPC, and an investigation was launched against him following KFOR
initiative. On the basis of the statements given by family members of
the murdered Albanians (Agim Musliu, Alush Kastrati, Idriz Svarça, Drita
Voce) and the eyewitnesses report on the murder of Enver Sekiraça, the
UNMIK police arrested Rustem Mustafa on August 11, 2002. On July 16,
2003, he was sentenced by the International Judicial Council of the
District Court in Priština to 17 years in prison, for the war crimes
committed in the region of Priština and Podujevo.
95.
SALIH (Jaha) MUSTAFA
Born on January 1st,
1972, in Priština. Due to his membership in the NMRK illegal
organization, he was sentenced to five years imprisonment in 1993. As a
KLA member, he acted within a special unit which committed murder and
kidnapping and robbed the property in the Priština and Podujevo
municipalities. After KPC was formed, and following orders from Rustem
Mustafa and Fatmir Humoli, he formed an illegal terrorist group called
"Skifteri", with the goal to carry out assassinations, kidnapping and
looting of ethnic Serbs and their property. Within "Skifteri", he formed
his own group, which was composed of Behar Berisha, Ruzhdi Halili, aka
"Rudi", Nazif Metoli, aka "Tabut", Hilmi Veli, aka "Death", Haki Abazi,
Aslan Sinani, Gani Koci, Shefqet Murseli, Shaqir Beqiri, brothers Faik
and Raif Arifi and others. Toward the end of June 1999, together with
Agim Rexhepi (false name Agron Xhemaili), from the village of Karuševac,
Municipality of Obilić, he organized the assassination of a certain
Boško, a former department store employee in the same city. He was the
organizer and perpetrator of the assassination of a number of ethnic
Albanians from the region of Podujevo (among whom Ukshin Zeqiri and
Milaim Gjakoli), and is connected with illegal arms trade and narcotics
distribution.
96. ARIF (Pajazit)
MUQOLI, alias "Prof"
Born on May 15th,
1952, in the village of Hrtica, Municipality of Podujevo. He was a
member of the KLA operative zone Lab and, after the 151st
brigade "Zahir Pajaziti" was formed, he was appointed its commander,
with the headquarters in the village of Bradaš. After the demobilization
of KLA, he was appointed one of the top officials in the KPC general
staff. He was involved in the murder of Mirko Sarić, from the village of
Tačevac, Municipality of Kuršumlija, committed on July 20, 1999, in the
village of Metohija, as well as in the systematic ethnic cleansing of
the Serb population on the territory of the Podujevo and Priština
municipalities.
97. MALIQ NDRECAJ, alias
"Commander Maliqi"
Born in the village of
Mačiteva, Municipality of Suva Reka. After KLA operative zone Dukadjin
was formed, Ramush Haradinaj appointed Ndrecaj commander of the 132nd
KLA brigade, named "Murat Zeneli", with the headquarters in the village
of Jablanica. This brigade was in charge of the jail in which the
kidnapped Serbs were tortured and murdered. Following the arrival of
KFOR and UNMIK in K&M, he commanded a special unit called "Evil River"
whose members carried out a large number of criminal acts against the
non-Albanian population in the region of Djakovica. After ANA
headquarters were formed in the Debalde village, Municipality of Vitina,
in 2002, Ndrecaj was appointed commander, entrusted with the training of
ANA members. Following the instructions of Ramush Haradinaj, Ndrecaj
took part in the armed conflicts in Kumanovo (FYROM), where he led the
terrorist group within NLA, using the alias of "Commander Mala". He was
also active in the illega transport of arms and other military equipment
from Albania for the needs of the terrorists in the regions of Preševo,
Bujanovac, Medvedja and in FYROM. In that context, with his group,
composed of Shaban Tahiri, from the village of Berjah, Selman Sadiku,
from the village of Nivokaz, Municipality of Djakovica, Binak Mazreku,
from the village of Voks, and Hajdar Habibi,
from the village of Junik,
Municipality of Dečani, Ndrecaj took weapons from a warehouse situated
in the Dečani region and stored them in the immediate vicinity of the
administrative border with southern Serbia, as well as the state border
with FYROM. Due to these activities, he was arrested by KFOR in March of
2003, but was soon released.
98.
SELAMI (Ilmi) NEZIRI, alias "Agron"
Born on July 5th,
1972, in the village of Donja Slatina, Municipality of Vitina. Due to
his activities within PMKL, criminal charges were filed against him in
August 1993, and he was tried and sentenced to 14 months imprisonment.
Having completed his training in Albania, at the beginning of 1998, with
a group of 10 KLA members, he illegally crossed into the territory of
K&M where, together with Ahmet Isufi, Shemsi Syla and Lulzim Leci, from
the village of Gmince, Municipality of Kosovska Kamenica, he
participated in the establishment of KLA headquarters for the operative
zone of Karadak, as well as in mobilizing and training new KLA members,
and in the delivery of weapons and military equipment. In the summer of
1999, he was appointed commander of the 173rd KLA brigade, and later
commander of a KPC unit in Vitina. At the same time, he carried out
duties of vice-president of the Municipal Assembly of Vitina until
October 2000, and was also the leader of the terrorist group "Black
Eagles", whose members took part in assassination, harassment and
expulsion of Serbs from that Municipality. In March 2001, during the
armed conflicts in FYR Macedonia, Neziri headed a group of around 300
terrorists from the territory of the Vitina Municipality, which took
part in the battles against Macedonian security forces in the region of
the Tanuševci village. Shortly after the aforementioned activities, he
was removed from KPC. In mid-2002, he was engaged in the delivery of
weapons to FYROM. A part of the weapons was stored in the border
villages of Debelde and Mjak, in Vitina Municipality. In the same year,
he was appointed director of the Insurance Department in the municipal
assembly of Vitina. He still holds the same position and is very active
in organizing the purchase of Serb property in that Municipality.
99. JAKUP (Smajl) NURA
Born on February 13th,
1966, in the village of Prelovac, Municipality of Srbica. At the
beginning of 1997, by the verdict of the District Court in Priština, he
was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his criminal acts of terrorism.
After a short stay with the terrorist group of Adem Jashari in 1991, he
was sent to Albania for military training. After his return to K&M, he
took part in a number of terrorist acts against the members of the
police, including the attack on the police members on the railroad
crossing in Glogovac, when four policemen were killed, and the attack in
the village of Likosane, Municipality of Glogovac, as well as in a
number of kidnappings and assassinations of the Serb civilians. In the
period between February 1998 and June 1999, he was the KLA commander for
the village of Prelovac, Municipality of Srbica, and a member of the KLA
general staff for the region of Drenica, and is now a member of the
special unit within KPC for the Drenica region. He is closely connected
with the currently most active terrorist groups in K&M, southern Serbia
and FYROM. In mid-2001, with a group of terrorists, he stayed the
administrative border towards Bujanovac, Preševo and Medvedja, where he
took part in the terrorist acts against the members of the police and YA
forces.
100.
ENVER (Osman) ORUÇI
Born on December 6th,
1962, in the village of Rezalo, Municipality of Srbica. He graduated
from the Military Academy in Belgrade and used to be the commander of
the Federal Secretariat of Internal Affairs in Vučitrn. From 1998, he
was active as a KLA member, in the region of the Čičavica mountain,
where a large number of crimes were committed against the members of the
ethnic Serb population. Under the direct leadership of Oruçi and Mensur
Kasumi, the abduction of the Serbs from the village of Nevoljane,
Municipality of Vučitrn, was organized. Members of the KLA 124th
brigade, commanded by Enver Oruçi, kidnapped five Serb senior citizens
from the village of Nevoljane and drove them, via Čičavica and Prekaze,
into an improvised jail set up in the village of Likovac. In this jail,
Serb and Albanian prisoners were mistreated and murdered, among whom was
the policeman Ivan Bulatović. Sabit Geca and Sylejman Selimi, aka
"Sultan”, especially excelled in the massacre and assassinations.
101. GJUMSHIT (Ahmet)
OSMANI
Born on May 2nd,
1951, in the village of Zitinje, Municipality of Vitina. Within KLA, he
was engaged in the collection of intelligence data. After KLA was
disbanded, he was appointed head of the KPC secret police in Gnjilane,
usually carrying out orders given by Ahmet Isufi and Shemsi Syla, the
commander and the deputy commander of the operative zone of Karadak.
Together with Nazmi Bekteshi, from Gnjilane, a former member of the
Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs, and now a member of the secret
police, he abused the remaining members of the Serb population in the
region of Gnjilane Municipality, with the goal of their forced
expulsion. Also, following the orders of Isufi and Syla, he organized
the murder of prominent Serbs in Gnjilane, so that in the city itself
more than a hundred people were killed and 90% of the ethnic Serbs were
exiled. He usually engaged individuals from the criminal environment for
the most serious criminal acts (murder, rape, arson, physical abuse).
These activities were especially directed at the former members of the
Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs who had remained in K&M. In order
to demonstrate his loyalty to KLA, the former operative of the Security
Service of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs, Fatmir Drmaku, from
Gnjilane, had to, following orders given by Osmani, take part in the
murder of DSK members.
102.
NEBIH (Qerkim) PRENIQI
Born
on August 26th, 1975, in the village of Ade, Municipality of
Obilić. As a member of the KLA secret police, under the direct command
of Abedin Sogojeva and Sabit Lladrovci, he took part in the murder of
the Rapajić family from Obilić, on November 28, 2000.
103.
RAHMAN (Sadri) RAMA
Born on November 23rd,
1970, in the village of Okraštica, Municipality of Vučitrn. He performed
the duties of the commander of KLA 4th operative zone
encompassing the region of the municipalities of Kosovska Mitrovica,
Vučitrn, Leposavić, Zvečan, Zubin Potok and a few villages from the
Obilić Municipality. As a member of Adem Jashari’s terrorist group, he
was directly involved in the supervision of the actions in the Drenica
region in 1993, only to be moved on later to the Vučitrn region, where
he was engaged in the organization of the terrorist groups in almost all
the villages of this region. In June 1998, he organized and supervised
terrorist attacks against the Serb families in the village of Pantina,
Municipality of Vučitrn. On the occasion, he kidnapped the Miljković
couple (Ratomir and Čedomirka), whose destiny remains unknown. After the
expulsion of the ethnic Serbs from the aforementioned village, he
ordered total destruction of all Serb houses and other buildings. In
June 1998, he headed a group of 1,000 KLA members who managed to
transport a large amount of weapons and military equipment from Albania
to K&M. As the commander of the aforementioned zone, Rama embezzled the
financial means collected abroad for the acquisition of weapons and
other equipment for KLA needs. After the withdrawal of the Serbian
security forces from the territory of K&M, he forcefully took over a
number of business premises and apartments whose owners were members of
the non-Albanian ethnic communities, mostly Serbs. After the
establishment of KPC, Rama was appointed commander of the 4th
RTG, with the headquarters in Kosovska Mitrovica. In November 2001, he
found himself with the rank of major-general in the position of the
commander of the 5th RTG of KPC in Priština, from which he
was removed at the end of June 2003. Rama has huge financial means at
his disposal, which he used to buy a house in Priština, the value of
which is estimated at approximately 250,000 euros, and he built four
large houses in the village of Okraštica, where his parents and brothers
live and constructed the most contemporary farm for raising cattle and
poultry, the value of which is estimated at over 200,000 euros. He owns
a number of luxury cars and jeeps. He is closely connected with Agim
Shahini from Vučitrn, the owner of the "Bes-Arti" trade company from
that city and the president of the Association of Trade Companies in
K&M.
104. ILLMI (Selman)
RAMUSHOLI, alias "Granite"
Born on May 10th,
1964, in the village of Manastirci, Municipality of Uroševac. A former
member of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs in Priština. In 1998,
he joined the KLA general staff for the UroševacMunicipality, located in
the Jezerce village. Soon after that, he was appointed commander of the
161st brigade of the Nerodimlje operative zone. After the
members of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the YA forces
were withdrawn from K&M, he organized and, on a number of occasions,
took part in the kidnapping civilians of Serb nationality form the
village of Gornje and Donje Nerodimlje, Municipality of Uroševac (Dimko
Parli, Miloš and Milorad Djordjević). He interrogated the kidnapped
individuals and physically abused them, after which they were never
found. Beside this, he organized the expulsion of the Serb population
from the aforementioned villages and the destruction of their property.
After KPC was formed, in September 1999, he was appointed operations
officer of the Istok zone, and is now engaged as an officer in the army
barracks of "Jezeračka Epopeja" in Uroševac, as the Chief of Staff. At
the same time, he is a member of the illegal secret police and a member
of the ANA general staff for
the region of the Uroševac, Kačanik, Štrpce and Štimlje municipalities.
He is closely connected with Ismet Sadiku, from the village of Balić,
Municipality of Uroševac, a member of the secret police in Uroševac,
with Elmi Reqica, from Uroševac, the Deputy Chief of the secret police
and the coordinator of the secret police and ANA activities in Uroševac,
and with Imri Ilazi, from the village of Kamena Glava, Municipality of
Uroševac, the commander of the 6th RTG of KPC.
105.
ELMI (Rexhep) REQICA, alias "Petrit"
Born on October 6th,
1961, in Uroševac. Because of his separatist and terrorist activities,
he was arrested and sentenced to 11 years in prison in 1985. After
serving his sentence, he was active in the illegal NPK organization.
Together with Xhabir Morina, Enver Topalli and Sullejman Bitiqi, he was
an organizer of the terrorist acts which were carried out in the region
of Uroševac in 1997 and at the beginning of 1998 (the attack on the
police checkpoint in the village of Grlica, Municipality of Uroševac,
and the attack on two apartment buildings where members of the Serbian
Ministry of Internal Affairs lived). Beside his role as organizer, he
personally took part in the attack on a residential building in which an
employee of the State Security Service lived, by throwing an explosive
device manufactured by Sullejman Bitiqi. In June 1998, he initiated the
formation of KLA general staff for Uroševac, in which he was appointed
liaison officer with the general staff in Drenica. Beside that, he was
in charge of weapons acquisition and collection of financial means, as
well of finding bases where those weapons may be stored. Following the
arrest of a member of these headquarters, he escaped to Drenica, and
then to the village of Jezerce, Municipality of Uroševac, where KLA
headquarters were located. As one of the top officials of the KLA
general staff of the Nerodimlje operative zone, in 1999, he established
the so-called intelligence group, which was connected with the Albanian
intelligence service, SIK. This group was later transformed into the
so-called secret police, entrusted with kidnapping and murder of members
of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs. Following the withdrawal of
the Serbian Security Forces from K&M, Reqica was appointed chief of the
intelligence division of G-2 within KPC by Agim Çeku, with the
headquarters in Priština. Besides his tasks in KPC, he was also
appointed by Kadri Veseli, aka "Luli", chief of the secret police of
Kosovo, deputy commander of the aforementioned organization where he has
remained until today. In addition to his engagement in the establishment
of the departments of the secret police of Kosovo in all larger centers
throughout K&M, and in the coordination of the operations of this
service in Uroševac, Reqica, together with his associates, organized
kidnappings and assassinations of Albanians who, according to their
assessment, were connected with the members of the Serbian Ministry of
Internal Affairs. Elmi’s brother, Bashkim Reqica (together with Nijazi
Lohaj, Nexhat Krasniqi, Fatmir Azemi, Nexhat Azemi and Qamil Shabani,
aka "Four Eyes") was actively involved in the smuggling of narcotics
from Turkey to western Europe, via Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and
Slovakia. The said persons represent one of the most powerful criminal
groups on the territory of Uroševac who are involved in the transport of
narcotics to western European countries. A part of the financial means
acquired through this activity, Reqica uses for the purchase and
delivery of modern weapons for the needs of ANA members engaged in the
conflicts on the territory of FYROM and southern Serbia. Beside this, he
is engaged in establishing ANA headquarters in the Municipalities of
Uroševac, Štimlje, Štrpci and Kačanik. Some time ago, in the village of
Kamena Glava, UNMIK carried out a search and discovered around 20
kilograms of heroin, owned by Reqica and his criminal group. In a
similar action, the Macedonian police, also this year, discovered and
seized around 10 kilograms of heroin from the members of this same
group.
106. EKREM (Raim) REXHA, nicknamed "Drini"
Born
on December 6th, 1961, in the village of Ljubižda,
Municipality of Prizren. A former YNA officer. He was the commander of
the KLA 125th brigade general staff for the operative zone
Paštrik and a member of the KLA general staff, as well as one of the top
officials of Shefqet Haxhija’s secret police, known as "Landowners". He
is responsible for numerous crimes committed on this territory: over 26
murders, 77 kidnappings, organization of six jails located on the
territory of Orahovac and Prizren, group rape and torture of women, of
which some were held captive in the prison in Orahovac. Also, he is
responsible for the execution of over twenty terrorist attacks, among
which is the attack on the village of Bratotin, Opteruša, Retimlje and
Zoćiste, committed in July and in November 1998. When in the middle
1999, during the armed conflict, the local population took refuge from
their homes on the territory of Prizren, Ekrem Rexha ordered all public
facilities and non-Albanian houses burned and looted. On that occasion,
he also issued the command for the murder of a few ethnic Albanians
because of their loyalty to the Republic of Serbia. He was killed on May
8, 2000, by the members of the "Black Hand" terrorist group, due to his
conflict with Hashim Thaqi.
107.
BEDRI (Shaban) REXHAJ, alias "Galjan"
Born on April 3rd,
1962, in the village of Petrovo, Municipality of Štimlje. Immediately
after KLA was established, he was appointed chief of the secret police
in the village of Lanište, Municipality of Štimlje, and then also a
member of the KLA general staff in the village of Jezerce, under the
command of Shukri Buja. At one time, following his superior’s orders, he
was active in the Drenica region. He was a participant in the armed
attacks on the village of Nerodimlje in 1998 and 1999, and on the
village of Grebno in April 1999, when the local population from the
territory of Uroševac was driven into exile. After the armed conflict on
the territory of K&M was concluded as the chief of police of the general
staff, later of KPC, in Štimlje, together with the commander Isak
Musliu, aka "Cherciz", he organized the expulsion of the non-Albanian
population from that region (in a very short period of time he expelled
95% of the population, and their property was burned or looted). The
aforementioned group opened, for Serbs and Gypsies, jails in the
villages of Petrovo, Mužičane and Račak. Bedri personally arrested and
physically mistreated Vitomir Nikšić, because he had requested KFOR and
UNMIK protection. Towards the end of 1999, the Nikšić family, under
pressure, left K&M. Bedri, beside Bajrush Rexhaj, Agim Ismaili, Muhamet
Miftari and Heset Bleta, is a member of the secret police (SIK) in
Štimlje, headed by Fahrudin Gashi. Each of the aforementioned
individuals has his own formed group engaged in criminal activities
(burglary and theft, fraud, racketeering, serious threats and the like).
108.
ISMET (Adem) SADIKU
Born on April 23rd,
1941, in the village of Balić, Municipality of Uroševac. A former
reserve army officer, with the rank of major. As the chief of the KLA
general staff for the Municipality of Uroševac, after his members were
arrested, he managed to escape and join the KLA general staff in
Drenica, to be later appointed commander of the KLA general staff in the
village of Jezerce, Municipality of Uroševac. In the second half of
1999, he established the local general staff of KLA in the village of
Balić, Municipality of Uroševac, and organized ethnic cleansing of the
Serbian population from the villages of Gornje and Donje Nerodimlje, and
after their expulsion, he ordered their houses burned and demolished.
Sadiku personally interrogated ethnic Serbs who were brought in for
questioning to the KLA headquarters and abused and physically maltreated
them. Eight of them were eventually murdered. Beside that, he took part
in the interrogation of Albanians brought into the KLA headquarters,
situated in the YA building in Uroševac, who were suspected of having
been collaborators of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs. As a
member of the special group for conducting diversionary activities, at
the beginning of 2000, he activated an explosive device in front of the
Catholic church in Uroševac. For that, he was arrested by KFOR and spent
a month in custody.
109. RUZHDI (Ajdin)
SARAMATI
Born on July 19th,
1950, in the village of Dobruša, Municipality of Prizren. Due to his
activities within the illegal organization NMRK, he was sentenced to 7
years in prison in 1980. Having served his sentence, he continued his
terrorist activities, and inflicted a fire-arm wound on a member of the
Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs in 1992 in Prizren, after which he
fled to Albania. Following SIK instructions, he became one of the
organizers and instructors of KLA members on the territory of Albania,
together with officers of the Albanian army, and was also engaged in
illegal transport of weapons and military equipment from Albania to K&M
for KLA use. Following the withdrawal of the members of the Serbian
Ministry of Internal Affairs and the YA forces, he returned to Prizren,
where he organized the expulsion of Serbs and other non-Albanian
population, as well as the destruction and looting of their property, in
which, beside him, Ismet Badallaj, Baki Elezkurtaj and Hismen Kurtaj
participated. Saramati also formed "triads" which committed a series of
assassinations. Until KPC was established, he was the commander of the
KLA 128th brigade, with the headquarters in the village of
Žur, as well as the commander of the camp in the Našec village, in the
premises of the youth resting home, and was later appointed commander of
a division of the KPC 324th brigade, with the headquarters in
Lapuški Han. He established a number of terrorist groups on the
territory of Opolj, which act directly under his command. Their primary
task is theft, physical abuse and assassination of the members of the
non-Albanian population in that region. With Hashim Thaqi’s approval, he
occupied a part of the border towards Albania, for the purpose of an
unhindered transport of weapons and other military equipment which was
subsequently transferred to the Drenica region and thence to Macedonia
and southern Serbia. Beside that, he was also engaged in the
mobilization of former KLA members who were to join NLA in FYROM.
Because of his abuse of the Albanians in Prizren, KFOR arrested him
towards the end of 2001, but he was soon released due to the lack of
evidence. After a few days, he was arrested again and sentenced to 5
years in prison at the beginning of 2002, and is now serving his
sentence in the Bondsteel base, and the attorneys engaged in his
defense, Hazer Susuri and Bajram Hiseni, tried to question the
indictment, stating that this case was rigged in Belgrade. On a number
of occasions, he was visited in prison by Besnik Cengu, the head of the
Kuksa district (in Albania) and Spiro Butka, an officer of the Albanian
army and a ANA member now living in Uroševac. In addition to all this,
there were disciplinary proceedings held against Saramati and Petrit
Bojaxhiju in 2002, due to their embezzlement of a large amount of
financial means, collected from the citizens for the construction of KPC
army barracks in Lapuški Han.
110. REXHEP (Destan)
SELIMI
Born on March 15th,
1971, in the village of Ovčarevo, Municipality of Srbica. He was
sentenced, in absentia, to 20 years in prison, for the criminal acts of
terrorism. From 1991, he was in the KLA terrorist group of Adem Jashari,
as one of his most loyal fellow fighters. After his stay in Albania,
attending diversionary terrorist training, he illegally crossed the
border with K&M and joined the terrorist groups on the territory of the
Srbica Municipality, conducting training and arming KLA members. Later,
he became commander of the special units in the Drenica operative zone.
He was a direct participant in the terrorist acts against the members of
the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs in May 1993, on the railroad
crossing close to Glogovac, in which four policemen were killed and
three were seriously wounded, as well as in the attacks against the
police convoy in the village of Lauša, the hamlet of Ludović,
Municipality of Srbica, on November 26 and 27, 1997. In the interim self
proclaimed Government of Kosovo, Hashim Thaqi appointed him minister of
internal affairs. At that time, Selimi established an organization
called "Large Eagles", which encompassed a few dozen former KLA members.
Within the "Large Eagles", a group called "Black Eagles" was also active
and their task was assassination of non-Albanian civilian population, of
political opponents and members of the rival criminal groups. In that
sense, and under Thaqi’s control, a number of thefts were carried out,
arson, assassinations and injuries of the Serbian and other non-Albanian
population. Selimi was the direct organizer of the majority of the
kidnappings and assassinations of Serbian civilians. He was also
organizer of illegal transport of terrorist groups from the Drenica
region to the territory of the FYRepublic of Macedonia, where they
joined NLA, and he was also included in the transfer of terrorists from
Drenica to the region of the Bujanovac, Preševo and Medvedja
Municipalities, to carry out attacks against the police and army forces.
In 2000, international KFOR forces in K&M launched an investigation of
five high KPC officials, among them Selimi, because of the murder and
genocide committed on the territory of K&M in the course of 1998 and
1999. Rexhep Selimi plays a very important role in the criminal
activities of K&M, where he is included in arms, narcotics and human
trafficking. Together with Sylejman Selimi, his first cousin, he
organized a network for the sale of narcotics, weapons and military
equipment. The network is also used for the activities of the terrorist
organizations on the territory of FYROM. In these operations, he closely
collaborates with Thaqi’s "Drenica group", Xhavit Haliti, Ismet Osmani,
Sabit Gecaj and Zan Qaushi, the leader of one of the mafia groups from
Albania, who often travels and stays on the territory of Klina, Prizren
and Priština. A part of the profit acquired through criminal activities
is used by Selimi to arm and equip the Kosovo secret service, SIK,
headed by Kadri Veseli, from the village of Brabonić, Municipality of
Kosovska Mitrovica. Selimi, together with Fatmir Limaj, is the founder
of illegal criminal terrorist group known as "Falcon’s Eye" which, apart
from arms and drugs trafficking, racketeering and prostitution, is
engaged in following and assassinating of political opponents, rivals
and prominent Serbs, and in criminal activities in general. The
organization receives aid from Switzerland, Germany, France, Australia
and Albania. Currently, its operations base is located in the Teranda
Hotel in Prizren, where SIS members can often be seen. It is believed
that this organization is the paramilitary part of the Albanian
Nationalist Party "Bali Kombetar". He is on the American "black list" of
organizations and individuals who have restricted access to financial
aid, i.e., who are forbidden to enter the US. Currently, he is the head
of KPC Academy.
111. SYLEJMAN (Saban) SELIMI, alias "Sultan"
Born
on September 25th, 1970, in the village of Ovčarevo,
Municipality of Srbica. In the period between February 1998 and June
1999, he was the commander of the KLA general staff for Drenica, and is
currently the deputy commander of KPC, with the rank of major-general.
He was a direct participant in the terrorist acts carried out against
the court officers and the members of the police in the village of
Voćnjak on November 25 and 26, 1997, as well as against the police
convoy in village of Lauša, the hamlet of Ludović, Municipality of
Srbica. Towards the end of 1997, he took part in the assassination of
Sadik Bajrami from the village of Donji Obilić, Municipality of Srbica.
In 1999, Hashim Thaqi’s interim Government appointed him commander of
the so-called National Guard of Kosovo. Beside his activities in K&M,
Selimi played an important role in the organization and the transfer of
terrorist groups from the Drenica region to FYROM. Also, his role in the
organization of criminal activities is considerable. He is connected
with Kadri Veseli, Xhavit Haliti and Rexhep Selimi, as well as with
certain criminal groups from Albania, among whom are Ismet Osmani, aka
"Curi", one of the leading narcotics dealer in west European countries,
and Zan Qaushi, leader of the Albanian criminal organization which deals
with illegal arms trade from Albania into the region of FYROM,
Montenegro and K&M.
112.
ABEDIN (Abdurahman) SOGOJEVA
Born
on February 26th, 1958, in the village of Donji Grabovac,
Municipality of Kosovo Polje. He performed duties of the KLA commander
for the Grabovac region, and is now a KPC member, within the 1st
RTG. He participated in the terrorist attack in which two members of the
Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs were killed in the village of
Hamidij, Municipality of Obilić, and in the village of Pantina,
Municipality of Vučitrn, as well as in the attack on the Belaćevac mine.
He organized and took part in the kidnapping of the Serbs, the employees
of the Belaćevac mine, on June 22, 1998, i.e., of Dragan Vukmirović,
Zoran, Dušan and Petar Adžandžic, Filip Gojković, Marko Buha, Miroslav
Trifunović, Srboljub Savić, Božidar Alimpić, and Žarko Spasić, who were
kidnapped on May 14, 1998. He is responsible for the kidnapping and
murder of Zvonko Bojanić, the Vice-President of the Municipal Assembly
of Kosovo Polje. In the region of the Obilić Municipality, he and Sabit
Lladrovci established a terrorist group consisting of the former members
of the KLA secret police, – Kadrija Sullejmani, aka "Mouse", Nebih
Preniqi and Bekim Berbatovci, all being the members of the KLA secret
service, than Muhamet Çerkezi aka "Çerkez", Ahmet Çerkezi and Mirsad
Kurteshi, and 14 mujahedins and four German citizens, who conducted the
weapons handling training. This terrorist group, following Sogojeva’s
orders, committed a series of actions, among which the planting of
explosives in the Kastelo restaurant in Obilić, where local Serbs
congregate. He is connected with the murder of the Rapajić family, from
Obilić, committed on November 28, 2000, followed by the murder of
Miladija Stanojević, as well as with the harassment of ethnic Serbs,
members of KPS (Tanja Mihajlović from Priština), destruction and looting
of the Serb property in the region, as well as with their physical abuse
(Stojka Stojanović, Tomica Antić, Novica Ilić, Milenko Mihajlović and
others).
113. FATMIR (Halim) SOPI
Born
on April 13th, 1961, in the village of Mramor, Municipality
of Priština. He was sentenced to four years in prison in 1984, for the
criminal act of association for the purpose of committing hostile
activities. Following the withdrawal of the Serb Security Forces from
K&M, as Deputy Commander of the 153rd brigade in the Zlaš
village, Municipality of Priština, he confiscated 700 automatic rifles
from the warehouse in the village of Lukare and sold them to Ramiz
Asllani (for 300 DM a piece), after which Asllani resold them to ANA
members in Macedonia (for 700 DM a piece). Towards the end of August
1999, he took part in kidnapping Milorad Popović, from Gračanica,
Slavica Stević, from Badovac, and Predrag Mikić, aka "Prota”, from
Sušice, on the location of the village of Zebince, Municipality of Novo
Brdo. Together with Fatmir Sopi and Adem Shehu, he is the main suspect
for the murder of Dragan Perić, Siniša Marković and a certain Jovanović,
in the Gračanica region.
114.
AZEM (Riza) SYLA, alias "Tefik" and "Big Uncle"
Born
on May 4th, 1951, in the village of Kišna Reka, Municipality
of Glogovac. Former Defense Minister in Hashim Thaqi’s Government, he
spent a number of years in Switzerland and is currently a resident of
Albania. He was one of the most influential members in the Kosovo
Albanian delegation that took part in the talks held in Rambouillet. He
belongs to the group of KLA ideological founders, and took part in the
establishment of SIK. Together with Gjeladin Gashi and Hashim Thaqi, he
organized a terrorist attack on the members of the Serbian Ministry of
Internal Affairs on the railroad crossing in Glogovac, in May 1993.
Beside that, he organized a terrorist attack on the police stations in
Podujevo and Štimlje, the assassination of a group of Serbs in Klina and
some 80 ethnic Serbs and Albanians in Mališevo, in 1998. During the
armed conflict in K&M, he ordered the assassination of around 800
Albanians who refused to become members of DPK, as well as the
assassination of certain influential activists of Ibrahim Rugova’s DSK
party. His recent activities are connected with the terrorist
organization ANA in K&M, within which he plays one of the most important
roles. He is responsible for the bomb attack on UNMIK police premises in
Peć carried out by SIK members at the beginning of 2003. After the
dispute with Hashim Thaqi and Xhavit Haliti, Syla left the K&M territory
and moved to Albania, from where he plans and organizes diversionary
terrorist activities to be carried out by SIK members in Kosmet. For the
purpose of coordinating their activities, he often illegally crosses the
border and stays in the territory of Peć, Prizren and Djakovica. He also
coordinates the organized crime network on the territory of K&M and
FYROM, in connection with the illegal import of weapons, ammunition and
other equipment, as well as with the procurement of the means necessary
for the conduct of terrorist activities. He procures weapons and
equipment for diversionary terrorist activities in Albania, Germany and
Switzerland, and distributes them, via Albanian territory, to K&M.
115. SHEMSI (Nebija) SYLA, alias "Saca"
Born
on July 1st, 1957, in the village of Bresaljce, Municipality
of Gnjilane. As a deputy commander of the KLA Karadak zone (within the
Lab zone, the 153rd brigade), in the Zlaš village,
Municipality of Priština, he was engaged in mobilizing individuals on
the territory of the Gnjilane and Vitina municipalities, which is why,
at the beginning of 1999, he formed the KLA auxiliary general staff in
the village of Žegrovačka Vrbica, Municipality of Gnjilane, in order to
transfer terrorist activities and the promotion of KLA to other regions
where, until that moment, there were no armed conflicts. Certain KLA
members accused him of stealing the money (in the amount of 140,000 DM),
which was set aside to finance the activities of the said general staff.
He personally organized and issued orders for the assassination of
Serbs, but also of Albanians who they believed had cooperated with the
members of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the YA forces.
Upon his orders, and in agreement with Florim Kllokoqi, now KPC member
in the Novo Brdo Municipality, a group of Albanian terrorists kidnapped
the members of the Bunjaku family (father Bislim and son Agim), from the
Bunjaci district, Municipality of Novo Brdo, and took them in the
direction of the Marevci village. The said persons are now listed as
missing. Upon his orders, a series of murders were committed in the
villages of Poneš, Paralovo, Straža and Cernica, in the Gnjilane
Municipality, as well as in Gnjilane itself. During 2000, he stayed,
Together with Avdul Hasani, from the village of Cernica, and Isa Agushi,
from the village of Žegra, in the region of the Preševo and Bujanovac
municipalities and was an instructor of LAPMB members, assisting in
providing fighters, weapons, material and financial means.
116. FADIL (Hajdar) SULJEVIĆ
Born
on October 19th, 1965, in the village of Ravna Banja,
Municipality of Medvedja. A former employee of the Priština Secretariat
of Internal Affairs, now KPS member in the police station in Priština.
In 1998, he left the police force and joined the KLA, forming a unit on
the territory of Golak (region between Priština and Medvedja), with the
intention of carrying out terrorist acts. The aforementioned group whose
members, among others, were Hamdi Hiseni, Islam Mshica, Mehmet Alija and
Baki Gashi, planned a series of assassinations and diversionary
terrorist actions in the Priština region. In July 1998 Suljević,
together with his group, carried out an attack in Priština on a military
bus transporting employees to the Slatina airport, at which time Slavica
Aleksić and Dejan Gavrilović were seriously wounded as well as YA
members, Branislav Kubatović and Zoran Mirković. Following the
withdrawal of the members of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs
and the YA forces from K&M, he took part in the expulsion of the Serbian
population in Priština, in theft, harassment and squatting. He organized
a robbery of the gas station in Priština, during which an ethnic Serb
employee was killed. Also, he is also connected with the murder of over
15 Serbs in the Zlatare village, Municipality of Uroševac, Kemal
Shabani, a State Security employee in Priština, and Ramiz Mehmeti, from
the village of Ajkobil, Municipality Priština, as well as with the
kidnapping of Osman Sainović, from Medvedja, Valon Mehmeti and Fitim
Vrajolli. He organized and ran a camp for Serb prisoners which was
located in the Zlatare hamlet, in the vicinity of the Matičane village,
close to Priština. Beside his activities in K&M, Suljević joined LAPMB
within which he carried out a series of terrorist acts in the region of
the Medvedja Municipality. He heads one of the criminal groups involved
in drug pushing, the sale of stolen cars and excise goods in Priština,
as well as in racketeering and mediation in the purchase and sale of
real estate between Albanians and Serbs, with a
high
commission rate.
117. EMRUSH (Nesim) SUMA, alias "Hoxha"
Born
on May 27th, 1974, in the village of Dimce, Municipality of
Kačanik. During NATO aggression on FRY, as a member of the 162nd
brigade in the operative zone of Nerodimlje, he took an active part in
terrorist acts in the Kačanik region. As a member of the secret police
of Kosovo, together with Rushit and Zeqif Bardhi and Mehmet Ballazhi, he
took part in the forced expulsion and murder of the non-Albanian
population, and of the local Albanians who refused to join KLA, after
the withdrawal of the Serbian Security forces from K&M. During 1999, the
members of the aforementioned group killed Emin Drenjani and carried out
a terrorist act in which Ziber Curi, an Albanian from Djeneral Janković,
Municipality of Kačanik, was killed. After Curi’s murder, KFOR arrested
Suma, Mehmet Ballazhi and another terrorist, but they were released
after a few days under pressure by Albanian-organized demonstrations.
During the conflict of Albanian terrorists with the Security Forces of
the FYRepublic of Macedonia, Suma was engaged in collecting and sending
weapons and military equipment, as well as in recruiting and
transferring able-bodied Albanians to the region of the aforementioned
country. After the Ohrid agreement was signed in 2001, he moved to FYROM
and joined the General Staff of the newly formed terrorist organization,
ANA, and at the beginning of 2002, following an initiative of the top
leadership, he was appointed Deputy Chief of the bodyguards of Ali
Ahmeti, the president of the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI), an
Albanian political party in FYROM. During 2002, he became one of the
main organizers of smuggled weapons, narcotics and excise goods from K&M
into Macedonia. In March of the same year, during one of his actions of
weapon transfer, KFOR intercepted the group of smugglers and, in the
armed conflict which ensued, Suma was seriously wounded. He was taken to
the hospital in Priština for treatment, but managed to run away. He is
on the American "black list" of organizations and individuals who have
restricted access to financial aid, i.e., who are forbidden to enter the
US.
118.
RUFKI (Ibrahim) SUMA
Born
on April 15th, 1968, in the village of Dimce, Municipality of
Kačanik. At the beginning of 1998, following orders of the KLA general
staff in the Drenica region, he formed diversionary terrorist groups
active in the Djeneral Janković region. One of his groups organized a
channel to bring in weapons from FYROM into K&M, and Suma personally
financed its purchase and made decisions on its storage. When this group
was arrested by the members of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs,
Rufki Suma managed to get away, but was sentenced, in absentia, to 10
years in prison. After the Serbian Security Forces were withdrawn from
K&M, he was one of the organizers of the Serb exile from the Djeneral
Janković region, and he personally took part in organizing several
assassinations in that region. He was later appointed Commander of the
KPC 163rd brigade in Vitina, and is now, the commander of the
KPC unit stationed in Djeneral Janković, with the rank of major. During
2001 he organized collection of financial means with the intention of
providing aid to the LAPMB units in southern Serbia and to NLA in
Macedonia, and also personally participated in the clashes with
Macedonian Security Forces. Beside his terrorist activities, he is also
involved in criminal activities. Together with Emrush Suma, from the
village of Dimce, Municipality of Kačanik, he formed his own criminal
clan in 1999, which smuggled arms and drugs from FYROM to K&M and in the
opposite direction. They also extort money from the local companies and
wealthy individuals, as well as from the shippers whose trucks pass
through Djeneral Janković, The members of Suma’s clan are connected with
the criminal groups headed by Rustem Mustafa, aka "Remi”, from Podujevo.
119. ISMET (Mihedin) TARA
Born
on August 6th, 1963, in Orahovac. With a group of his fellow
fighters from KLA, including Gezim Hamza, aka "Piktor", Gjelal Hajda,
aka "Toni", Selajdin Mulabazi, aka "Mici", and Sabajdin Cena, aka
"Sosi", he formed a special KLA unit, with the headquarters located in
the village of Carevac, in the vicinity of Orahovac. He is one of the
organizers and perpetrators in the armed attack on Orahovac on July 17,
1998, and a large number of terrorist attacks against the members of the
Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the YA forces. In 1998, this
earned him the appointment to the position of the commander of the KLA
124th brigade in the operative zone of Paštrik, whose
headquarters were located in the village of Retimlje, Municipality of
Orahovac, at that time. With Sabajdin Cena, he is responsible for a
number of assassinations and crimes against the non-Albanian population
in Orahovac, when Albanian terrorists entered into this town in June
1999. Also, together with Cena and Skender Hoxha, he was in charge of
the camp for Serb prisoners which, at one time, was located in Albania,
two km north from Trooper. After KPC was formed, he was appointed one of
its top officials for the Orahovac region and he personally seized a
"Jugopetrol" gas station for the needs of this formation. During the
terrorist activities of LAPMB in southern Serbia in 2000, he was
involved in the illegal transfer of weapons and military equipment to
the terrorists. He is the leader of the extremist Party of Justice for
the Orahovac region.
120. GANI (Haxhija) THAQI
Born
on January 1st, 1958, in the village of Broćna, Municipality
of Srbica. He is Hashim Thaqi’s brother. From 1992 onwards, he took part
in the attacks against the members of the Serbian Ministry of Internal
Affairs. Through his brother, Hashim, he made contact with Sami
Lushtaku, Besim Rama, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi, Adem Jashari and
other terrorists. He was appointed commander of the 112th
brigade "Arben Halliti" which was active in the operative zone of
Drenica in 1998. He took an active part in the terrorist actions against
the members of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the YA
forces. He is the owner of 12 gas stations which now bear the name of
Kosovo Petrol, formerly owned by Jugopetrol and Beopetrol, and he holds
a monopoly over the trade in oil derivatives on the whole territory of
K&M. Other gas station owners pay him the licence "tax" and, in case
they refuse, they become the targets of an armed group of mercenaries
personally controlled by Gani Thaqi. The group issues a warning and then
confiscates their goods and forbids them further operations. His
position in the oil and oil derivatives market is secured by Hashim
Thaqi who, also, and in the same manner, reaps huge financial profits.
121. HASHIM (Haxhija)
THAQI, alias "Gjarpni" ("Snake")
Born on April 24th,
1969, in the village of Broćna, Municipality of Srbica. Following KLA’s
demilitarization, he formed the DPK political party whose president he
has been from the beginning. In July 1997, he was sentenced, in
absentia, by a verdict of the District Court in Priština, to 10 years in
prison, for the criminal acts of terrorism, and in February 1998, a
central arrest warrant was issued in his name. As a member of the inner
circle of KLA, he took part in securing financial means for KLA,
smuggled terrorist groups into the country, was in charge of their
diversionary terrorist training and their armament. He completed his
military training, lasting a couple of months, in Albania, after which
he was directly engaged in a number of terrorist actions in K&M. He was
a participant in the attack on the railroad crossing in Glogovac, when
four policemen were killed, and three were seriously wounded. Also, on a
number of occasions, he visited the village of Klečka, Municipality of
Lipljan, at the time when a group of Serb civilians were imprisoned,
abused and subsequently murdered there. Even though he had secured his
participation in the interim bodies of K&M, he maintains his powerful
influence over the most extreme structures of the former KLA, which he
uses with the intention of intimidating his political rivals and
applying pressure on the non-Albanian population to move out of K&M.
Towards the end of 2001, following Hashim Thaqi’s initiative, a number
of terrorist groups were organized, composed of former KLA members,
mainly from the Drenica region, whose activities he controls through
Kadri Veseli, the head of SIK, Sami Lushtaku, from Srbica, and others. A
secret armed group is also under his control and is responsible for a
series of crimes, murders, kidnappings and serious threats in the region
of southern Srbica, in the villages of Rudnik, Radiševo, Suvo Grlo,
Banje, Kotore and Kućica. The immediate supervisor of this group is
Rexhep Selimi, from the village of Ovčarevo, Municipality of Srbica, who
is otherwise the head of the KPC Academy. The members of the group are
Musa Dervishaj, Zenun Kadriju, Gjeladin Gecaj and others. Thaqi is in
contact with Alli Ahmeti, NLA commander in Macedonia, with whom he
collaborates in transporting terrorists from Macedonia into the
territory of the Preševo and Bujanovac municipalities, with the goal to
carry out terrorist actions against the multi-ethnic police checkpoints
in certain villages, on a part of the administrative border with K&M. He
is also the organizer of a criminal organization, known as the "Drenica
Group", with a large number of his family members included in it. The
aforementioned group controls between 10% to 15% of the overall number
of criminal activities in K&M in connection with the smuggling of arms,
stolen cars, oil and, partially, cigarettes, as well as with
prostitution, the establishment and maintenance of connections with the
members of the Albanian, Czech and Macedonian mafia. Other than that,
Thaqi’s sister is married to Sejdija Bajrush, one of the leaders of the
Albanian mafia. Thaqi controls the greater part of organized crime in
the region of Istok-Klina-Srbica-Priština. His closest associate in the
smuggling of stolen vehicles is Fadhil Thaqi. With this, he is assisted
by the Kitaj criminal clan. On the territory of the Klina Municipality,
Hamdi Thaqi is involved in organized prostitution, while operations
connected with the trafficking of drugs and with prostitution are
handled by Hashim Thaqi, together with his cousin Menduh Thaqi, and
Betush Zihugoli and Engel Shabani, aka "Angel". Through Menduh Thaqi, he
is connected with the illegal arms and oil trade. Along with Ekrem
Lluka, Fatmir Limaj, Flori Maloku and Ismet Osmani, Thaqi is one of the
bosses of illegal cigarette trade in K&M. Thaqi’s close associate in the
organized prostitution, narcotics and arms trafficking operations is
Xhavit Haliti who, among other things, is involved in intimidation,
blackmail and elimination of Thaqi’s political rivals. A considerrable
part of the financial means thus acquired is used by the Thaqi clan and
channeled into the political campaign for Hashim Thaqi, while the other
part of the money is delivered as aid to the Albanian terrorist groups.
122. AHMET (Alli) QERIQI,
alias "Shpat"
Born on December 26th,
1946, in the village of Krajmirovci, Municipality of Lipljan. Since
1996, he was arrested on a number of occasions because of his extremist
activities. He was one of the top officials of the KLA general staff in
the village of Krajmirovci, Municipality of Lipljan. During 1998, he
took part in organizing and carrying out terrorist attacks on the
members of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the YA forces.
Following orders from KLA, he traveled to Albania where, in the camps of
Vljor and Kruma, he completed his military training. On June 29, 1998,
in the village of Crnoljevo, Municipality of Štimlje, together with
Ramiz Qeriqi, Ramadan Beluji, Rahman Tafa and Sylejman Qeriqi, he took
part in the kidnapping of four ethnic Serbs (Veljko Bakrač, Ivan Bakrač,
Stamena Geno and another person). He was also a participant in the
kidnapping of the Albanian, Kadri Tafa, his son Sherif, then Gjem Fehmi,
Emin Emini and Elmi Qerkini. In November 1998, he was seriously wounded
on his way back from Albania, where he went with the purpose of
purchasing and illegally transporting weapons and ammunition. Following
this incident, and due to his medical condition, he stopped all
terrorist activities and became active in the fundraising activities for
Hashim Thaqi’s DKP. In 1999, he was in the position of the Deputy
Commander of the KLA police in the Štimlje Municipality. He is currently
the owner of a private Union Bank in Lipljane. In the bank‘s Managing
Board, beside Qeriqi, there are also Fahrudin and Hizer Gashi, both
former KLA members. This bank is used for the laundering of the funds
acquired through drugs and weapons sales.
123. RAMIZ (Rexhep)
QERIQI, alias "Luan" or "Sokol"
Born
on April 15th, 1962, in the village of Krajmirovci,
Municipality of Lipljan. At the beginning of the 90s, he was in Germany
and was active in the Albanian emigration circles. He completed his
training for terrorist activities in Skadar, Albania and, at the
beginning of 1998, he joined KLA terrorist activities in the
municipalities of Lipljan, Štimlje and Mališevo, where he carried out
the duties of the commander of the KLA general staff for the villages of
Krajmirovci and Petraštica. Prior to arriving in this region, he took
part in the attacks against the members of the Serbian Ministry of
Internal Affairs and the YA forces, in the village of Prekaze. On June
22, 1998, he personally killed a policeman and wounded another. Seven
days later, together with Ramadan Beluli, Rahman Tafa and Sylejman
Qeriqi, he took part in the kidnapping four civilians and headed the
group which kidnapped, and later murdered, Agim Ademi, Ahmeti Veseli and
Adem Ramadani. The same group carried out the terrorist act in which
Miroslav Stanišić, a reserve police officer of the police station in
Lipljan, was wounded. He also headed the attack against the family of
Fatmir Qerimi, from the village of Glodjanac, Municipality of Štimlje,
as well as the action of kidnapping Tanjug’s journalists, Nebojsa
Radošević and Vladimir Dobričić. The kidnapped individuals were jailed
into the previously dug wells in the village of Klečka, Municipality of
Lipljan. Towards the end of 1998, he became the commander of KLA newly
formed 121st brigade and, following the withdrawal of the
Serbian security forces from K&M, he was one of the top officials of the
secret police of Kosovo. After KLA was disbanded, he joined the LAPMB
terrorist organization in south of Serbia. Starting from 2002, he was
engaged in the recruitment of the members for the terrorist organization
ANA, together with Bekim Zejnulahu and he maintained contacts with Ajvaz
Karpuzi and Rame Buja, as well as with former NLA members in Macedonia.
124. SAMI (Brahim)
UKSHINI, nicknamed "Sokol"
Born on October 15th,
1967, in the village of Morina, Municipality of Djakovica. Together with
Sadri Avduli, he formed and led a terrorist group that was active in the
Djakovica region. The group numbered 35 members and was armed with
automatic and semiautomatic guns, mortars, heavy machine guns and a
cannon. In the course of 1998, it carried out a number of armed attacks
against the members of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the
YA forces. He was deputy to Maliq Ndrecaj, Commander of the Kumanovo
operative zone, which included the 113th brigade, "Ismet
Jashari", headed by Kushtrim Hoxha.
125.
AVNI (Beqir) FETA
Born
on November 15th, 1974, in the village of Penduh,
Municipality of Podujevo. As the commander of KLA police in the
operative zone of Lab, in 1999, Feta, together with Sefedin and Jashar
Ejupi, former policemen of the Kosovo Secretariat of Internal Affairs,
now members of KPS, from the village of Sekirača, Municipality of
Podujevo, directly participated in the murder of Srba Djukić, from the
village of Glavnik, Municipality of Podujevo, as well as in the
terrorist attacks on Stanimir Dimović, a policeman of the police station
in Podujevo. Together with Safet Hasani and Blerim Blakqori, aka "Beni”,
on December 21, 1998, in Podujevo, he carried out a terrorist attack in
which Milić Jović, an operative of the State Security Center of Priština
was killed. Together with Avni Berisha, aka "Tarkan", from the village
of Konjuševac, Municipality of Podujevo, and Rustem Mustafa, aka "Remi",
from the village of Prepolac, Municipality of Podujevo, Feta was a
member of the group which, in this region, carried out a number of
terrorist attacks and, after the withdrawal of the Serbian Ministry of
Internal Affairs the YA forces from K&M, carried out ethnic cleansing on
the territory of the Podujevo and Priština municipalities. After the
arrest of Latif Gani, Feta was appointed head of the operative zone
within SIK and, together with Elmi Reqica, aka "Petrit", and Xhavit
Haliti, was one of the top officials of the secret police. He is
currently a member of the terrorist formation ANA active on the
territory of K&M, as confirmed by the fact that he is in possession of
this illegal organization’s ID card. UNMIK police has issued an arrest
warrant in his name, for a number of crimes committed in K&M, in the
period following the arrival of the international forces.
126. ADEM
(Rust) HAGJOCAJ
Born in the village of
Prekoluk, Municipality of Dečani. As a member of the KLA group in the
aforementioned village, Hagjocaj traveled illegally to Albania, on a
number of occasions, from where he transferred a large amount of weapons
necessary to carry out terrorist activities. Until August 1998, he took
part, together with the terrorists from Glodjani, in the abduction,
torture and assassination of a large number of members of the Serbian
Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Serb civilians from the region of
the municipalities of Dečani, whose bodies were subsequently dumped into
the Radonjić Lake. Beside that, he is was one of the perpetrators in the
murder of a large number of Albanians from the Dečani Municipality,
amongst whom Muarem Hagjocaj, a member of the local security force in
the Prekoluk village.
127.
ABIT (Ajet) HAZIRAJ, alias "Ninja"
Born on June 26th,
1956, in the village of Lauš, Municipality of Srbica. He was the
commander of the 2nd battalion of the 113th KLA
brigade, which was active in the Drenica region. In July 1998, he headed
a terrorist group that kidnapped and subsequently murdered Čedomir
Kandić, from the village of Kotore, Municipality of Srbica, and burned
down a number of Serb houses in the same village. In November 1999, in
the vicinity of the village of Vitaka, he and Muhamet Haliti, aka
"Naser”, kidnapped Dostana Smigić, from the village of Leoččin,
Municipality of Srbica, and took her to an improvised jail in the
village of Likovac, where she was subsequently murdered.
In May 2000, following the
orders of Sali Veseli, accompanied with a financial reward, Haziraj
murdered Ekrem Rexha, aka "Drini", from Prizren. Because of that, he was
arrested by UNMIK together with his three accomplices and his trial for
this criminal act commenced at the beginning of 2003.
128. SADIK (Magjun)
HALITJAHA
Born on June 7th,
1955, in the village of Mušutište, Municipality of Suva Reka. Acting
within the illegal organization NPK from this region, Halitjah drew
attention to himself as one of the most extremist members, which is why
criminal charges were brought against him, in 1986. In the same year, he
illegally travelled to Switzerland, where he was granted asylum and
joined the activities of the Albanian extremist immigration. In addition
to his engagement in the recruitment of young Albanians who were sent to
the diversionary terrorist training, and then to the KLA units in K&M,
in 1998, Halitjah, with a group of terrorists, arrived in K&M from
Albania, where he was immediately appointed commander of the KLA
regional general staff in the village of Budakovo, Municipality of Suva
Reka. He was an organizer of weapons and ammunition acquisition from
Albania and soon established a powerful terrorist organization, which
placed a significant part of the territory in this region under its
temporary control. Under his command, an illegal jail was established in
the village of Budakovo. As a member of the illegal "Eagle’s Eye"
organization he was engaged in controlling the operations and
racketeering the night clubs and brothels, in the region of Uroševac,
Gnjilane, Glogovac and Prizren, in 1999. After KPC was formed, Halitjaha
was appointed head of the department for civilian and military affairs,
but was suspended in 2002. During the same period, following the
initiative of the KLA general staff, an Association of KLA War Veterans
was formed and Halitjaha was elected its president.
129. XHAVIT (Mehmet)
HALITI, alias "Bunny"
Born on March 8th,
1956, in Novo Selo, Municipality of Peć. In the eighties, he was a
member of the illegal extremist organization which, in its manifesto,
listed the secession of K&M from the Republic of Serbia and its
accession to Albania as its primary goal. Following the unsuccessful
attempt to arrest him in Priština, he resisted to, and in the ensuing
shooting, wounded a member of the State security, he fled to Switzerland
where he was granted political asylum. He became a member of the top NPK
leadership for the region of Western Europe and, as one of the leading
officials of the then KLA, he was a member of K&M delegation in
Rambouillet. He is a member of DPK and a representative in the
Parliament of Kosovo. At the beginning of 1991, he directly organized
the illegal delivery of a large quantity of arms and ammunition to the
Peć region where, as liaison officers, he used G¸zim Avdimetaj, from
Streoce, Municipality of Dečani, the Elezaj brothers, from Radavac,
Municipality of Peć, the Camaj brothers, from Novo Selo, Municipality of
Peć, and some others. Also, he was connected with the organization of
the diversionary terrorist training of KLA members. In direct contacts
with the top KLA officials in Switzerland and Germany (Gafur Elshani,
Jashar Salihaj, Emrush Xhemajli, Adem Grabovci, Ibrahim Kelmendi,
Muhamed Kelmendi, Hasan Ukhagjaj, Hakif Hoti and others), he planned,
managed and coordinated KLA activities in K&M and the Republic of
Albania, and upon orders from the organization, he occasionally stayed
in those regions, in order to strike deals on the distribution of
weapons and equipment to KLA members. In 1998, he personally stored a
large amount of arms in the region of Tropoje, Albania, and prepared a
number of bases to provide shelter for the terrorist groups which
arrived in Albania from K&M. After the international forces were
deployed, he came to the Peć region, to Vitomirica, where he built a
plant for the manufacture of construction materials. He holds the
monopoly in that field, which brings him incredibly high financial
benefits. He held a significant role in the establishment of the secret
police in K&M, which was ready to assist the most extreme terrorist
groups in the Province, carrying out ethnic cleansing in the Peć region.
As the SIK director, he organized logistic support for the formation of
NLA in the FYRepublic of Macedonia and is also mentioned as the man
responsible for the establishment of OVIK. The Albanian press accuses
him of organizing the assassination of Muhamet Xhemajil, Ibrahim
Rugova’s advisor, as well as the top officials of the former State
Security Service, Selim Broshaj and Ibusha Kllokoqi. He is connected
with the mafia in Albania, as well as with the Albanian intelligence
service. He usurps a part of the funds acquired in an illegal manner for
himself, while a part is used to finance the activities of Albanian
terrorists in K&M, southern Serbia and FYROM. He is one of the central
figures of organized crime in K&M. He has an enormous capital and is
involved in the racketeering and the activities connected with drugs and
protection. Also, he has a total control over the districts of
Vitomirica, which is situated 2 km north-east of Peć where he has a
number of residences (as well as in Kosovska Mitrovica, Peć, Albania and
Switzerland). He is the owner of a number of restaurant and hotel
facilities which he uses to launder the money, and which serve him as a
cover for the performance of various criminal activities.
Following the elections held
on November 17, 2001, he was elected representative in the assembly of
K&M and, in March 2002, was named its vicepresident.
130.
BUJAR (Rasim) HARADINAJ
Born
on May 15th, 1976, in the village of Glodjani, Municipality
of Dečani. As a member of the armed formation which was active on the
territory of the operative zone of Dukadjin, he took part in over 87
assassinations, 29 kidnappings and set up a number of jails in the
villages of Glodjani, Belanica, Likovac, Jablanica and Smonica,
Municipality of Prizren, in the rape and sexual harassment of a number
of individuals and in the destruction of considerable property. Beside
this, he is responsible for some 180 terrorist attacks, among which
armed attacks on the villages of Ljodja and Babaloć, in the middle of
1998, as well as for the forced expulsion of the population from the
territory of Djakovica, Peć and Dečani, and for setting the church in
the village of Gornji Rašić on fire. He is the immediate perpetrator of
a number of armed attacks on the members of the Serbian Ministry of
Internal Affairs of the Republic of Serbia and the YA forces. Together
with Agim Selmani and Daut Haradinaj, he took part in the attack on the
members of the army and police, in August 1998, in the vicinity of the
village of Šaptej, Municipality of Dečani, and headed a group of
terrorists in the attack against the members of the Serbian Ministry of
Internal Affairs in the village of Jablanica, Municipality of Djakovica,
as well as in the attacks against the policemen and soldiers in the
village of Glodjani, in October 1998 and in the Dašinovac bridge,
Municipality of Dečani in November 1999. In addition to all this, he is
connected with the smuggling of arms to K&M.
131. DAUT (Hilmi)
HARADINAJ, alias "Cufi" or "Cripple"
Born
on April 6th, 1978, in the village of Glodjani, Municipality
of Dečani. As a KLA member, he was seriously wounded in the conflicts
with the Serbian security forces and was left without an arm. Following
an initiative of the Ramus brothers, Daut and Shkelzen Haradinaj, at the
beginning of 1998, he formed the KLA general staff in Glodjani, whose
commander became Ramush, and his deputy Daut Haradinaj who was
subsequently named a member of the KLA general staff and the commander
of the 131st brigade "Isuf Grvala”, whose members committed a
large number of crimes in the Dečani region. In the Glodjani prison,
which was under direct control of Ramush and Daut Haradinaj, a large
number of Serbs were murdered, amongst whom Slobodan Radojević, Miloš
and Milica Radunović, Milka Vlahović, Darinka Kovač, Novica Vujišić,
Zdravko Radunović, Dragan Djukić, Miloje and Vinka Krstić and others.
Daut Haradinaj also directly participated in the murder of Slobodan
Praščević and the policeman Milorad Otašević. He is also held
responsible for the crimes against the Serbs and Albanians loyal to the
Republic of Serbia, as well as those who could have been potential
witnesses of the crimes committed by the Haradinaj brothers. He is the
direct perpetrator of a number of assassinations, and he organized the
assassination of Tahir Zemaj, as well as a score of other political
rivals of Hashim Thaqi. After KPC was formed, he was the deputy
commander and, afterwards, the commander of the 3rd RTG. Upon
KPC command, he was in charge of coordinating operations with the
Islamic terrorist organization Al Qaeda. In that capacity, he organized
a meeting with Muhamed Al Zawahiri, brother of the ideological leader of
the aforementioned organization Dr. Yaman Al Zawahiri in Sophia in
October 2001. He was suspended from KPC in 2001 because he was placed on
the American "black list" of organizations and individuals who, due to
terrorist activities, had
restricted access to
financial aid, i.e., who were forbidden to enter the US. Until his
arrest by KFOR in July 2002, he directly participated in the attacks on
the security forces of the Republic of Macedonia, together with NLA
members, and he was also active in the area of arms and drugs
trafficking, as part of the criminal group led by Ramush Haradinaj. He
is accused of war crimes committed against Kosovo’s Albanians in June
1999.
132. RAMUSH (Hilmi)
HARADINAJ
Born on July 3rd,
1968, in the village of Glodjani, Municipality of Dečani. Suspected to
have committed criminal acts of terrorism, association with hostile
intentions and the murder of civilians, 108 criminal charges were
brought against him. He emigrated to Switzerland in 1989, after which he
joined the Foreign Legion in France. In 1996 he completed his
diversionary terrorist training. In Albania he took part in establishing
the logistics bases in Kuks and Tropoj which he later used, with a group
of trustworthy associates, to transport weapons to K&M. In mid-1997, he
illegally entered the country and, together with his brothers, Daut and
Shkelzen, organized terrorist attacks against the police department in
the village of Ranić, Municipality of Dečani, and the village of
Ponoševac, Municipality of Djakovica, and on the refugee camps in Junik
and Babaloć. At the beginning of 1998, in Glodjani, he formed a
diversionary terrorist group which, following his orders, intercepted
and threatened the Serbs and Albanians loyal to the Republic of Serbia.
This group, headed by the Haradinaj brothers, attacked a police patrol
in the village of Glodjani, in which Miodrag Otović was murdered. In
April of the same year, the terrorist group, led by Ramush Haradinaj,
established the KLA general staff in Glodjani for Metohija, the members
of which became his brothers Daut and Skeljzen, as well as Hilmi
Haradinaj, Faton Mehmeti, Rasim Haradinaj, Fadil Nimonaj, Maliq Ndrecaj
and others, while Ramush himself was engaged in the promotion and
establishment of local general staffs on the overall region of Dečani
and Djakovica. At the same time, on his initiative, a special KLA unit
was formed in Glodjani, called "Black
Eagles", whose commander was
Idriz Balaj, aka "Toger". Under the leadership of Ramush Haradinaj, the
"Black Eagles" kidnapped and brutally murdered dozens of Serb civilians.
A number of bodies were found in the Radonjić Lake and village wells in
the Dečani Municipality. After KPC was formed, Haradinaj was appointed
Deputy Commander of the commander of KPC, Agim Çeku. Towards the end of
2000, he left KPC and established the ABK party. In order to maintain
his influence over KPC, he managed to place his brother Daut as the
commander of the 3rd RTG of KPC which carries out the
assassinations of Ramush’s political rivals. Haradinaj also has close
connection within the KPS structure, bearing in mind that a large number
of policemen and officers of this formation were active in KLA at the
time when Haradinaj was the commander of the KLA general staff in
Metohija. Ramush Haradinaj is the most influential criminal in Metohija,
in the region of Peć, Dečani and Djakovica. In cooperation with Ekrem
Lluka and Naser Kelmendi, he created a criminal organization which
controls the organized smuggling of drugs, cigarettes, oil, oil
derivates, weapons, vehicles and other goods. His close associates, Isa
Balaj, Arton Tolaj, Avdyl Mushkoli and Ali Haskaj, all from Dečani, are
in contact with the members of the Albanian mafia. A part of the
acquired profit from the criminal activities of Haradinaj and his
criminal group was given to KPC, and from the same source, a significant
part of the financial means was forwarded to Nazim Haradinaj, who
supplied the Albanian terrorists in Macedonia with weapons. He belongs
to an influential family in the Peć region, which has great rivals in
the Rugova and the Musaj clan, which traditionally aids Rugova’s DSK,
and formerly had close connections with FARK of Bujar Bukosi. On July 7,
2000, he was seriously wounded in the village of Strelci, in the western
part of K&M, which was a result of inter-mafia conflict between the
groups belonging to Hashim Thaqi and Haradinaj and the Musaj family.
Before and after that, a series of murders were committed as a
consequence of the blood feud among the warring clans. In the second
half of 2002, an investigation was launched and Daut Haradinaj and a
group of top KPC officers were arrested and sentenced to a number of
years in prison. Beside that, criminal charges were brought in the
District Court in Peć, against Ramush Haradinaj. Aiming to free his
brother from prison, Haradinaj, by the mediation of Avdyl Mushkoli,
organized demonstrations and initiated the formation of a group of some
30 people who attempted to release Daut Haradinaj by force from the
Dubrava prison, Istok Municipality. In January 2003, Haradinaj organized
the assassination of Tahir Zemaj, a FARK commander, his son Enis and
nephew Hysen, on the Priština–Peć road, in the vicinity of a lumber
plant, due to the fact that Zemaj was supposed to be the crown witness
in the proceedings against Daut Haradinaj and himself. Following Ramush
Haradinaj’s orders, Maliq Ndrecaj was sent to the Vitina region, in
order to organize the terrorist ANA, which proof of Haradinaj’s
involvement in the incidents in southern Serbia. He was especially
active in arms procurement and the secret training of terrorists from
this region, which was organized in the villages along the
administrative border.
133. NAIT
(Gjemajl) HASANI
Born on January 15th,
1965, in the village of Randubrava, Municipality of Prizren. In 1997, he
was sentenced to many years of imprisonment for his terrorist
activities. In 2002 he was granted amnesty. He is one of the founders of
KLA and worked for the unification of the terrorist groups that were
active at the beginning of the 90s. In connection with this, he had
direct contacts with Azem Syla, Rexhep Selimi, Sylejman Selimi, aka
"Sultan", Gjeladin Gashi, Zarih Pajaziti, as well as with Adem Jashari’s
group. Following his release from prison, he joined the DPK political
party in 2002 and was elected member of its presidium. However, due to
misunderstandings with the party’s leaders, he soon left the party.
134. SAFET (Rahman)
HASANI, alias "Breca"
Born on April 23rd,
1970, in Podujevo. As a KLA member of the Lab zone, together with Avni
Feta, from the village of Penduh, Municipality of Podujevo, and Blerim
Blakqori, aka "Beni", he participated in the assassination of Milić
Jović, an employee of the State Security Service in Priština. Following
the withdrawal of the Serbian Security Forces from the territory of K&M,
Hasani conducted systematic ethnic cleansing of the Serb population on
the territory of the Podujevo Municipality. He took part in the
kidnapping of a number of ethnic Serbs in this region (for example Ivan
Majstorović). Together with Isa Latifi and Fahri Jakupi, he murdered
Srbislav Djukić from the village of Glavnik. He was arrested on
September 13, 2002, by the members of UNMIK police and KFOR as he was
accused of having participated in the kidnapping his fellow citizens on
the territory of Podujevo, in the period between 1998 and 1999. For the
aforementioned crimes, he was sentenced to four years of imprisonment
and is currently serving his sentence in the Dubrava jail, Municipality
of Istok.
135.
XHABIT HASANI, alias "Rakip"
Born on March 10, 1957, in
the village of Tanuševci, Municipality of Skopje, FYRepublic of
Macedonia. He joined KLA in 1999, when he organized the infiltration of
volunteers into K&M, through the territory of the village of Tanuševci.
He had his own unit of KLA members. Following the conflict in K&M, he
bought and sold arms, pharmaceuticals and other goods for the benefit of
LAPMB and NLA. When NLA commenced its armed activities in FYROM, he
immediately became one of its commanders. However, he soon left the
formation and, with some 50 terrorists under his control, carried out
actions against the Macedonian police and army. He now smuggles
cigarettes and military equipment and is active in recruiting, financing
and training ANA members in the region of Uroševac, Vitina and Kačanik.
He is Ramush Haradinaj’s spokesman in FYROM. During 2000, he was
promoted to the rank of major. He was one of the organizers who also
gave orders for the assassination of the Serbs and Albanians loyal to
the Republic of Serbia, as well as for burning down Serbian houses and
other property in the Vitina Municipality. For the sake of founded
suspicion of having committed the murder of a few policemen, and of a
construction inspector of the Čair Municipality in FYROM, and following
the request of the Government of FYROM, KFOR members arrested Hasani in
March 2000 in downtown Vitina and handed him over to the international
police forces in FYROM. He was soon released from prison, in exchange
for four Macedonian border policemen captured by NLA members, after
which he returned to Vitina. He is a member of the illegal "Free Eagles"
organization, which is know as "Leopards" in Vitina, which deals in
extortion and intimidation. Its members took part in a sudden attack
also on the Macedonian security forces in Tanuševci on February 16,
2001. Hasani is closely connected with Skender Habibi, one of the main
financiers of ANA terrorist activities in the region of southern Kosovo.
KFOR members arrested Hasani again in the first half of 2002 for his
criminal acts committed in FYROM, as well as for crimes against the Serb
population in K&M. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison by the
District Court in Gnjilane, on June 21, 2002.
136. ZEQIR (Mehmet)
HAXHIJA, nicknamed "Cannon"
Born on April 16th,
1972, in Djakovica. He joined KLA ranks on the territory of Djakovica in
1998, with a group of Albanian immigrants from Switzerland, and was soon
appointed one of the commanders of the 134th brigade "Bedri
Shala". At the same time, he was the leader of the "Black Hand"
terrorist group and, together with its members Hekuran Hoda, Nik Pnishi,
Nik Smajli, Esat Lata, Kujtim Shala and Anton Lekaj, aka "Pinco”, and
was responsible for the kidnapping and murder of Milivoje Buković, from
the village of Rača, a policeman in the Djakovica Secretariat of
Internal Affairs, of the policeman Pashko Qerimi, from the village of
Sopot, Municipality of Djakovica, of Nua Qupi, from the village of Ujz,
Municipality of Djakovica, and of Zef Berisha, from the village of Zjum.
After the demobilization of KLA, he was appointed one of the top
officials of the 3rd RTG of KPC in Peć, but in mid-2001, upon
Hashim Thaqi’s request, he was suspended from that position for lacking
enthusiasm because of a series of criminal acts which he had committed.
He was involved in making forged documents referring to the
privatization of certain socially owned companies on the territory of
the Djakovica Municipality, which he sold to interested parties at
extremely high prices, primarily to the members of the Albanian
nationality. In that manner, Haxhija sold the "Deva" company for 500,000
euros to Kolja Komani, from the village of Žub, Municipality of
Djakovica. He also squatted in the house of Dmitar Obradović, from
Djakovica, where he opened a local radio and TV station.
137. G¨ZIM (Sami)
HAXHIMUSA, alias "Shpingj" and "Piktori"
Born on February 21st,
1968, in the village of Dukanjevo, Municipality of Uroševac. He was a
courier for the KLA Commander of the General Staff in the village of
Jezerce, in charge of liaison with the persons from Uroševac who were
providing logistic support to KLA members. Later, he became the
commander of a special KLA unit in that region. Following the armed
conflict in K&M, he was one of the organizers and direct participants in
the ethnic cleansing of the Serbian population in the villages of
Zaskok, Doganjevo, Nekodim, Selo Varoš, Plešina, Grebno and Gatnje, in
the Uroševac Municipality. As a member of KPS, he was placed in the
police station in Uroševac, but he left this job due to medical reasons.
However, he immediately joined the illegal secret police of Kosovo for
the region of the said Municipality, and after ANA was formed, he joined
its activities and is now the head of the ANA general staff for the
Uroševac region.
138.
HEKURAN (Miftar) HODA
Born on February 18th,
1965, in Djakovica. Starting from 1992, he was a member of the illegal
general staff of the national defense in Djakovica, headed by Mazlom
Kumnova, Naser Zeka, Ilir Bitiqi and Bedri Cahani. At the beginning of
1998, following orders of Mazlom Kumnova, Sokol Dobruna and Aqifi Qehu,
he formed a center for the recruitment of volunteers who were
subsequently taken to the Smonica and Jablanica villages, Municipality
of Djakovica, and the Glodjani village, Municipality of Dečani, where
strong KLA terrorist bases existed, and later he himself joined these
groups. He was appointed to one of the commander functions by Ramush
Haradinaj, and during June, July and August 1998, he led a number of
terrorist attacks against the members of the Serbian Ministry of
Internal Affairs which resulted, at the end of August 1998, in the
criminal charges against him for the criminal act of terrorism. In the
spring of 1999, in the Djakovica region, he formed a city guerilla,
which was active in the Čabrat district, and in April and at the
beginning of May of that year, it carried out a few terrorist attacks in
which a number of civilians and three members of the police and army
forces were killed. After the Kumanovo Agreement was signed, he
organized a number of terrorist groups, which carried out kidnapping and
murder of the remaining members of the Serb and Montenegrin population
in Djakovica, among whom were Negovan Dedić, Zvezdan Mojsić, Budimir
Baljošević, Staniša Milenković and Goran Stolić. He is also responsible
for kidnapping and murder of Milica Vekić and Desanka Ilić, from
Djakovica. His closest associates and accomplices in the aforementioned
murders were Antun Lekaj, aka "Pinqo", Baton Morina, Adnan Krasniqi, aka
"Cipi", and Kreshnik Prtoli. After KPC was established, he was appointed
Deputy Commander of the 332nd brigade in Djakovica. He abused
his official position by usurping enormous financial means from the
humanitarian aid and used them to build a luxurious hotel on Čabrat
hill. Beside that, he is also the owner of the "Sini" radio and
television station. In September 2002, UNMIK police questioned Hoda
about his participation in the theft and extortion of money from wealthy
Albanians from Djakovica, after which he was fired from his top position
in the brigade of KPC. Fearing that the members of the International
Security Force would make him pay for the crimes he had committed, he
fled to Albania in 2002.
139. FATMIR (Shefqet)
HUMOLLI, alias "Baci"
Born on April 11th,
1965, in the village of Donje Ljupče, Municipality of Podujevo. He is
the president of the Governing Board of PMKL and a representative in the
Parliament of Kosovo, and is also active in KPC’s Lab RTG. In 1982, as a
member of the illegal organization "New Kosovo", he was arrested and
sentenced to three years in prison. After serving his sentence, he
joined the NPK organization and, when a number of its members were
arrested, he illegally fled to Albania and joined PMKL. In 1997, he was
sentenced in absentia, to 8 years in prison. At the beginning of 1998,
he illegally crossed the border and returned to K&M from Albania, where
he was engaged in the organization of a shelter for armed individuals
who came from Albania and their transfer to KLA units on the territory
of the Podujevo Municipality. During the same year, owing to his
connections with Rustem Mustafa, he became a member of the KLA general
staff of the Lab general staff. Following his and Rustem Mustafa’s
orders, in 1999 and 2000, two terrorist groups were formed: "BIA" (the
group got its name from the first initials of the killed terrorists
Bahri Fazliu, Ilir Konjushevci and Agron Rahmani, its headquarters were
in Priština, in the Vranjevac district), whose task was to carry out
terrorist activities against the remaining Serb population on the
territory of K&M, and "Skifteri", in charge of applying pressure on the
non-Albanian population (the leader of this group was Ruzhdi Halili, aka
"Rudi", and its members were Behar Berisha, Nazif Metoli, nicknamed
"Tabut", Hilmi Veli, aka "Death", Haki Abazi, Aslan Sinani, Gani Koci,
Shefqet Murseli, Shaqir Beqiri, and the brothers Faik and Raif Arifi).
The members of the said group were connected with the assassination of
Kemal Shabani, a member of the Central State Security in Priština, Latif
Krasniqi, from the Mahovac village, Xhavit Shala, from Vranjević, and
Enver Gjaki. The members of the "Skifteri” group murdered Miško
Maršulović, a reserve officer of the Serbian Ministry of Internal
Affairs, and his brother-in-law, Dragan, from Kruševac. The members of
the "BIA" terrorist group were the perpetrators of the terrorist attack
on the Niš-Express passenger bus on February 16, 2001, in the vicinity
of the village of Livadice, Municipality of Podujevo, when 11 people
were killed and a number of ethnic Serb passengers were wounded. Humolli
is also connected with the murder of Milan Milovanović in the village of
Dabovac, Municipality of Kuršumlija, and of planting an anti-tank mine
on the Kuršumlija-Prepolac passenger route in November 1999, when three
members of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs were killed, while 6
were seriously wounded. In 2001, he was elected a representative to the
Assembly of the Podujevo Municipality, as an ABK member but, at the same
time, he was engaged in the general staff of the 5th RTG of
KPC. At PMKL’s fifth session, held on July 29, 2001, he was elected
president of movement. At the last parliamentary elections in Kosovo,
PMKL received a single seat, on the list with Fatmir Humolli’s name.
140.
SABAJDIN (Samedin) CENA, alias "Sosi"
Born
on March 13th, 1953, in Orahovac. He was one of the
initiators and organizers of the diversionary terrorist group in the
Orahovac region, at the beginning of 1998. As a member of KLA general
staff for Orahovac, he was one of those who decided to launch an armed
attack on Orahovac on July 17, 1998, and then to carry out kidnappings
and assassination of dozens of civilians of the Serb and Montenegrin
nationality. Following the withdrawal of the Security Forces of the
Republic of Serbia from K&M, he entered Orahovac with his terrorist
formation. Then, upon his orders, Serbs and Montenegrins were arrested,
as well as some Albanians loyal to the Republic of Serbia, of whom a
certain number were killed. As the president of DPK for the Orahovac
region, he took part in the seizing of the local government, at which
time the private property of the Serb civilians was plundered. Due to
the crimes committed by KLA members in 1998 and 1999 against the
non-Albanian population in the Orahovac region, the members of UNMIK
police have been searching for Sabajdin Cena and Ismet Tara, also from
Orahovac. At the moment, both are at large.
141. AGIM (Hasan) ÇEKU
Born
on October 29th, 1960, in the village of Ćuška, Municipality
of Peć. A former YNA officer, now the Commander-in-Chief of KPC. He is
married to Dragica, a Serb. During the armed conflicts in Croatia, as a
colonel of the Assembly of the National Guard, he headed the unit which,
towards the end of September 1991, carried out kidnappings,
assassinations and massacres of 156 of the most renown Serbs from
Gospić. In September 1993, he took part in the attack of the members of
the Croatian army on the Medak Pocket, when 87 Serbian civilians were
massacred. He was one of the key participants in the planning of the
"Storm" operation executed in August 1995. Together with Rahim Ademi, a
general of the Croatian Army, he organized the recruitment and transfer
of the Albanians from Croatia to the KLA units in 1997. In 1998, he was
appointed chief of the KLA general staff and took part in the planning
and execution of terrorist acts aimed against the members of Serbian
Ministry of Internal Affairs and the YA forces, as well as against the
non-Albanian population in K&M. After KLA was disbanded, Çeku was named
the Commander-in-Chief of KPC whose members, under his control,
channeled their terrorist activities towards the members of the Serbian
Ministry of Internal Affairs deployed in the security zone in the
municipalities of Preševo, Bujanovac and Medvedja, as well as against
the members of the army and police forces of the FYRepublic of
Macedonia. Following Çeku’s instructions, large amounts of arms, which
were at KLA’s disposal, were hidden in secret locations in K&M. Through
his brother Besim, after NATO’s bombing campaign, Agim Çeku controlled
the jails where Serb civilians were held, of which many were killed.
Aiming to better coordinate terrorist activities and provide more
efficient logistic support to the members of LAPMB, upon Çeku’s orders,
this formation’s headquarters were located in the main headquarters of
RTG KPC Karadak in Gnjilane until May 2001. From May to August 2001, in
Agim Çeku’s organization, certain KPC officers, primarily members of the
"Black Eagles" group, headed by KPC major Idriz Balaj, aka "Toger", took
an active part in the conflicts in Macedonia, within NLA units. At the
beginning of 2002, Çeku publicly denounced the arrest of the active KPC
officers – Latif Gashi, former Deputy Commander of RTG Lab, and Rustem
Mustafa, former commander of RTG Karadak, by UNMIK members, who were
accused of committing war crimes in K&M. Through his brother Ethem, he
controls criminal activities connected with the trafficking in arms,
drugs and in the illegal trade in excise goods in the Peć region,
directly collaborating with Daut Kadriovski and Rufat Musa. He is the
owner of the "Sloga" company from Priština that owns the Grand and Božur
hotels, used as brothels, gambling facilities and drug distribution
centers. His business operations are handled by Sylejman Selimi. He has
some 60 shops throughout K&M. He is very close to Rahim Ademi, Ramush
Haradinaj, Adem Krasniqi, Murat Jashari, Shaqir Shaqiri, Shefqet Musliu
and Hashim Thaqi, with whom he controls all KPC public and secret
activities.
142. ETHEM (Demo) ÇEKU
Born
on October 1st, 1962, in Peć. He was a member of the illegal
organization PMKL, which earned him a prison sentence. He initiated the
establishment of the extremist wing of the Parliamentary Party of Kosovo
in Peć, promoted KLA in the region and took part in the illegal transfer
of arms. He received and took care of the volunteers joining KLA from
western Europe and their illegal transport to the Drenica region, where
armed operations were carried out. He took part in the activities of the
KLA general staff for the Metohija zone whose commander was Ramush
Haradinaj. In mid-1999, he was appointed President of the Municipal
Assembly of Peć. At the time when ABK was formed, he was elected member
of the Presidium and, during the election campaign, he was the president
of that party’s Central Election Commission. During NATO’s bombing,
Ethem and Besim Çeku commanded the camps, of which one was situated in
the Junik mountains, and the other in the village of Dragobilje in the
vicinity of Mališevo. The Serbs who were imprisoned in these camps were
forced to carry out hard physical labor in the Deva mine. His criminal
activities were carried out within the criminal organization of Ramush
Haradinaj and Ekrem Lluka, and the profit they acquired was used to
finance the activities of the Albanian terrorist groups which, from the
Peć region, were illegally transferred to southern Serbia and western
FYROM. He is currently in the position of minister of ecology and
development in the Government of Kosovo.
143.
MUHAMET (Mahmut) ÇERKEZI, alias "Çerkez"
Born
on July 9th, 1979, in Priština. He belonged to the terrorist
group formed in the Obilić region, headed by Abedin Sogojeva and Sabit
Lladrovci. He was connected to the murder of the Rapajić family from
Obilić, committed on November 28, 2000, and he planted an explosive
device in the restaurant Kastelo, and is the main organizer of the
destruction of the Miloš Obilić monument in the downtown area of the
same city. Beside his activities in K&M, he joined LAPMB units in
carrying out terrorist activities in southern Serbia. He was arrested by
UNMIK police, together with Bekim Berbatovci, from Obilić, because he
was suspected of being involved in the murder of the Stolić family. Due
to the lack of evidence, they were both released from prison after 72
hours.
144.
EMRUSH (Muharem) XHEMAJLI
Born
on May 1st, 1959, in the village of Kamena Glava,
Municipality of Uroševac. Between 1981 and the outbreak of hostility in
K&M, he lived in Bien, Switzerland. Together with his brother Mustafa,
he was an initiator of the establishment of NMRK. When NMRK suddenly
started losing membership in 1991, the Xhemajli brothers formed an
illegal extremist organization NPK. As secretary of this organization,
Emrush Xhemajli was especially active in recruiting and organizing the
transfer of the recruited Albanians to the Republic of Albania for
military training. Thence, after the completion of the training, they
were sent to join KLA units in K&M. He also took part in the collection
of financial means for the weapons and military equipment acquisition
for KLA needs. After his arrival in K&M in 1998, he helped form KLA
terrorist general staff in the region of the municipalities Uroševac,
Kačanik and Vitina. Following the deployment of international forces in
K&M in June 1999, he was appointed coordinator of NPK with KFOR and
UNMIK. At the beginning of 2000, together with Gafur Elshani, he
registered NPK as a new political party and became its president. After
LAPMB was formed, he maintained intense contacts with Junuz Musliu and
often stayed in the territory of the municipalities of Preševo,
Bujanovac and Medvedja. In connection with this, as the president of
NPK, he played a decisive role in establishing ANA on the territory of
Prizren and Dragaš, and was also active in collecting financial means
for the needs of this terrorist formation. Xhemajli is a close associate
of Ali Ahmeti and together they planned NLA activities in FYROM. He was
one of the main organizers of the illegal transfer of this formation’s
members to the training camps in K&M, followed by their return to FYROM
with the intention of carrying out terrorist activities. Due to his
connection with terrorist organizations, he was placed on the American
"black list" of organizations who have restricted access to financial
aid, i.e., who are forbidden to enter the US.
145. IDRIZ (Rizah) SHABANI, alias "Luta"
Born
on December 1st, 1958, in the village of Orlani, Municipality
of Podujevo. He is a retired YNA officer. He was a member of the general
staff of the operative zone of Lab, and later the commander of the 152nd
brigade called "Shaban Shala", with headquarters in the village of
Burince. After KLA was disbanded, he took a high officer position in the
KPC general staff where he carries out the duties of the department head
in the 5th RTG. He belonged to the terrorist group which
was, for a while, led by Zahir Pajaziti, and which carried out a number
of terrorist actions, among which the throwing of hand grenades on the
Serbs from Croatia, situated in the Djuro Djaković
high school building in Podujevo, the attack on the refugee Serbs from
Croatia situated in the former rest home of the Power Industry, in the
village of Batlava, the attack on Sredo Radović and Stanko Dimović,
members of the police station in Podujevo, the attack on Bejtush Beka,
an employee of the Central State Security of Priština, who later
succumbed and died because of the wounds, as well as the attack on the
building of the Department of Internal Affairs of Podujevo and the
police departments in the villages of Krpimej, Lužane and Orlani. Beside
that, in 1996, Shabani, together with the members of this terrorist
group, carried out a new attack on Sredo Radović, he took part in the
assassination of a member of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs,
Miloš Nikolić, and an employee of the Podujevo Municipality Dragan
Rakić, from the village of Velika Reka, in the village of Sukriš,
Municipality of Podujevo. The same group carried out an attack in 1997
on Radivoje Papović, the rector of the University of Priština. Beside
the listed crimes, Idriz Shabani, after the withdrawal of the Serbian
security forces from K&M, continued to take part in a systematical
ethnic cleansing of the Serb population on the territory of the Podujevo
and Priština municipalities.
146. BESNIK (Zenel) SHALA
Born
on May 31st, 1974, in the village of Ozrim, Municipality of
Peć. He is one of the founders of the KLA branch in the region of the
Drim district. He belonged to a group of terrorists from the village of
Lodja, composed of Naim Gjuraj, from the village of Radavac, Naim Lushi,
from the village of Ćuška, and Muhamet Demaj, from the village of
Dobruše, in the vicinity of Peć. This group committed a series of
murders, kidnappings and issued threats at the population from the
region of the Peć and Istok municipalities. In December 1998, Shalja
took part in a terrorist attack on the members of the Serbian Ministry
of Internal Affairs, engaged in the protection of the hospital where the
wounded member of Shalja’s group was hospitalized. On that occasion, a
few persons were wounded. Beside that, he is one of two perpetrators of
the terrorist attack on a group of high school pupils in the café
"Panda" in Peć, on December 14, 1998, when 6 persons were killed (Ivan
Radević, Dragan Trifović, Ivan Obradović, Svetislav Ristić, Vukota
Gvozdenović and Zoran Stanojević), while three young men were seriously
wounded (Mirsad Šabović, Vladan Lončarević and Nikola Rajević). In
January 1999, he tried to kidnap Smajl Mehmetaj, from the village of
Ruhot, and in July 1999, he took part in the attacks on the patrol of
the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs, in the vicinity of the village
of Lodja. He is responsible for the assassination of several members of
the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as for the
assassinations of some Albanians from the same village who had,
allegedly, cooperated with the Serbian police.
147.
SHABAN (Beko) SHALA
Born
on May 15th, 1961, in the village of Lodja, Municipality of
Peć. He graduated from the Military Academy and was a member of the
Kosovo Secretariat for Internal Affairs. Towards the end of 1994, he was
sentenced for his activities within the illegal Ministry of Internal
Affairs of the Republic of Kosovo. At the beginning of 1995, he was
involved in the organization of the diversionary terrorist training of
KLA members in Albania. Upon his orders, a number of Serbs were
kidnapped and murdered in the Peć region and the non-Albanian population
was forcefully exiled. Shala was responsible for issuing orders for the
kidnapping of Velizar Stošić, from the village of Belo Polje,
Municipality of Peć, whose body was later found in the Radonjić Lake. In
one of the terrorist attacks carried out by the group headed by Shala,
the policemen Mirko Radunović and Mile Rajković were killed, while
captain Srdjan Milović was captured and, after torture, killed. He led
the KLA group in the village of Lodja, Municipality of Peć, which, in
1998 and 1999, on the outskirts of Peć, carried out a series of attacks
on the members of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs. He was
directly involved in kidnapping of ethnic Serb and Montenegrin civilians
in the wider region of Lodja, of which some were murdered. From June to
September 1999, he carried out the duties of commander of KLA military
police in Peć, where he took an active part in the organization and
execution of ethnic cleansing of the non-Albanian population in the
wider region of that Municipality. After that, he was appointed chief of
the Police Academy class in Vučitrn and subsequently transferred to the
Peć region where, together with Gani Hajdari, he carried out the duties
of the instructor in charge of personnel training for KPS needs. Ramush
Haradinaj, through Shala, organized illegal transfer of arms and
military equipment from Albania, later stored in the region of Dečani
and Djakovica for ANA’s needs. In view of the fact that Haradinaj’s
terrorist and criminal organization is increasingly concerned by the
investigations conducted by the international forces in relation with
the crimes committed prior to, at the time of, and after NATO bombing,
it stands to reason that some of these arms might be used in terrorist
attacks on the members of KFOR and UNMIK.
148.
SHABAN (Veli) SHALA
Born
on December 1st, 1958, in the village of Negrovac,
Municipality of Glogovac. Because of his activities within the illegal
organization NMRK, he was sentenced to 7 years in prison in 1985. Within
KLA, he carried out the duties of the deputy commander for the Drenica
region, and he was later appointed commander of the 6th RTG, and then
commander of the 1st Drenica RTG in KPC. He is responsible
for setting up illegal jails in the village of Likovac, Municipality of
Srbica, and in the village of Lapuštnik, Municipality of Glogovac. In
these jails, citizens of the Serb and Albanian nationality which KLA
suspected of having collaborated with the Serbian Ministry of Internal
Affairs were tortured and killed. Commanding the 6th RTG of KPC until
October 2000, he ordered intensified terrorist attacks and threats
against the Serb population in the village of Pasjani, Municipality of
Gnjilane. Also, he advised Albanian citizens from the villages of
Mučibaba, Lipovica and Burince to move out of Gnjilane in an organized
manner, in order to create a clear area for the terrorist activities and
the transfer of arms into Preševo, Bujanovac and Medvedja. For carrying
out these activities, bases were formed under the control of the general
staff of the 6th RTG KPC. Together with Ramush Haradinaj, he
is one of the main organizers of drug trafficking in K&M. These
activities are carried out together with Bashkim Ibrahimi and Imer
Tahiri, from Preševo, and a part of the means acquired in this manner is
used to finance LAPMB. He maintains close contact with the former KLA
member, Irfeta Spahiu, who was, in November 2000, investigated by the
Norwegian members of KFOR for his connections with illegal trade and
prostitution of children and adults, as well as trafficking in children
and human organs. At the time his apartment was searched, documents
belonging to Shala were found, and it is suspected that he personally
had taken part in Irfeta Spahiu’s aforementioned activities.
149. NASER (Sadik) SHATRI, alias "Ermal"
Born
on September 23rd, 1957, in the village of Tomance,
Municipality of Istok. In October 1989, in Istok, he carried out an
attack on Tomislav Babović, a member of the Serbian State Security,
resulting in severe injures, after which, via illegal channels, he left
for Sweden where he was granted political asylum. He was sentenced, in
absentia, by the District Court in Peć, to 12 years of imprisonment.
Beside playing a significant role in the promotion of terrorist activity
among the Albanian emigration in western European countries, asking them
to support the terrorist activities of Albanians in K&M, Satri, in 1997
and 1998, via Albania, arrived in the region of the Dečani Municipality,
where he got in touch with Ramush Haradinaj and joined the organization
of diversionary terrorist training of KLA members. In that period, he
was appointed commander of KLA in the village of Prilep, Municipality of
Dečani. At the beginning of 1999, following a suggestion by Haradinaj,
he was appointed assistant commander of the brigade for military police
issues and took part in terrorist attacks on the members of the Serbian
Ministry of Internal Affairs and the YA forces in the region of the
Istok Municipality where, in an ambush, together with Ziguran Shatri,
from the Tomance village, Municipality of Istok, he killed the policeman
Selim Adović. Following the withdrawal of the Serbian Security forces,
he formed an illegal terrorist group, made up of former KLA police
members, whose task was to murder and exert pressure upon non-Albanian
population. This group committed a number of murders, among which, that
of Momčilo and Sreten Pumpalović from Istok, who were abused and
tortured before they were killed. He organized and ran the jails where
Serbs and Albanians were held in the penitentiary facility of "Dubrava",
in the vicinity of Istok.
150.
XHAFER (Demo) SHATRI
Born
on November 10th, 1949, in the village of Tomanci,
Municipality of Istok. As a highschool student, he was sentenced several
times for his extremist and separatist activities. Because of his
attempt to organize an armed rebellion in K&M in 1975, he was sentenced
to 8 years in prison. His sentence was extended for another three and a
half years because, in the meantime, he had committed another criminal
act. In February of 1982, he ran away from jail and via Albania fled to
Switzerland where he was granted political asylum. For a number of
years, Shatri had, despite formally being a DSK member, consistently
kept in contact with the leading extremists from NMRK, taking part in
the planning of their operations and in his public appearances he openly
supported aggressive methods, such as diversion, assassinations and the
like. He established a close connection with Bujar Bukoshi, who
appointed him minister of information of his Government in exile. In
1998, the Swiss police confiscated the personal computer, the diskettes
and written documents from Shatri’s office and arrested two of his
associates on the charge of illegal purchase of arms for KLA. During
that year, but in 1999 as well, Shatri organized the transfer of
technical equipment to K&M, which is why he visited Albania on a number
of occasions and, illegally, Kosovo and Metohija as well. Following
NATO’s bombing, he returned to K&M where, on the basis of his
instructions, repressive measures were employed against the Serb
population, which led to ethnic cleansing in the Istok Municipality. His
position was compromised by his collaboration with Bujar Bukoshi, since
both were accused of misusing and embezzling 8 million DM, which is part
of the means the Albanian emigration from western Europe collected for
the needs of Albanian extremists in K&M. Dissatisfied with the
treatment, especially by Hashim Thaqi, he returned to Switzerland in the
second half of 2002 and became one of the top officials of the central
headquarters of the illegal terrorist organization "Ideali", whose
members are gradually joining KPC.
151.
MUSTAFA (Shaqir) SHAQIRI, alias ‘Commander Shpejtim"
Born
on March 25th, 1967, in the village of Oraovica, Municipality
of Preševo. He was one of the initiators for the establishment of LAPMB.
As a distinguished member of this organization, besides carrying out
activities intended to supply arms to the members of LAPMB, Shaqiri took
part in the terrorist attacks against the security forces in the region
of the Municipality of Preševo. In October 2000, he was appointed
commander of the 113th brigade "Emin Fejzulahu", which was
located in this region, commanding armed actions against the members of
the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the YA forces, until May
2001. Following LAPMB’s demilitarization, for the needs of NLA members,
he saw to it that a part of the weapons be transferred to the territory
of Macedonia.
152.
SHAQIR (Ismaill) SHAQIRI
Born
on September 1st, 1964, in the village of Depci, Municipality
of Preševo. As the organizer and initiator of the activities of the
illegal "Bajram Curi" organization, Sachiri was sentenced by the
District Court in Vranje in 1982 to six years in prison, of which he
served four in the Leskovac jail. He was supported by the majority of
the Albanian extremists from K&M and abroad, and especially
distinguished himself during NATO’s bombing of FRY. At that time, he
maintained direct contacts with KLA leaders Hashim Thaqi, Ramush
Haradinaj and other terrorist leaders. He was the main organizer of
weapons, ammunition and medical acquisition, which he distributed to KLA
members. He is a participant in the illegal transport of Albanian
citizens from K&M to the Republic of Albania, where they were trained
for carrying out terrorist actions. Following the deployment of the
international forces in K&M, he became the deputy commander of the 6th
RTG of KPC for the Gnjilane region. However, after six months, he was
suspended by Bernard Couchner’s decision, the then head of the UN
civilian mission in K&M. He is one of the main organizers of the
establishment and activities of LAPMB, where he was in favor of
intensified terrorist activities in the region of the Preševo and
Bujanovac municipalities. During 2000, in the region of the Preševo
Municipality, he maintained his command structure through which
terrorist activities against the Serbian security forces were realized.
On a number of occasions, he called attention to his extremist views and
beliefs, particularly at the meetings with the members of the
international community, regarding the demilitarization of LAPMB, which
earned him six months imprisonment in the American Bondsteel base, in
the vicinity of Uroševac. He played a significant role in the
establishment of a new political group of Albanians – PDP, consisting
mainly of former LAPMB members. He is currently the unsurpassed
authority on the extremist separatist policies in southern Serbia. His
views are expressed in the Association of War Veterans of the former KLA
terrorist organization, where he is deputy president.
153.
ADEM SHEHU
A
former officer of the Albanian Army, he actively participated in the
training of Albanian terrorists in the camps throughout Albania. After
his arrival in K&M in June 1999, he became one of the top KLA officials
in the operative zone of Lab, the commander of the 153rd
brigade, which was active in the Golaka region and along the Priština –
Leskovac route, i.e., in the villages of Kačikol, Graštica, Kolić and
others. He maintained extremely close contacts with Sejdi Veseli and
Rustem Mustafa, aka "Remi”, the then commander of the Lab operative
zone. On August 31, 1999, in the village of Zebnica, the members of the
group commanded by Shehu murdered Dragan Perić, from Gračanica, Siniša
Marković, from Badovac, and Jovanović N., from Sušica. Also, this group
kidnapped Milorad Popović and was responsible for the kidnapping of
Slaviša Stević, from Badovci, and Predrag Mikić, aka "Prota”, from
Sušica. After the Kumanovo agreement was signed, KLA general staff in
the Lab operative zone, where Shehu was located, made a decision on
forming illegal terrorist groups, in charge of ethnic cleansing in the
region of the Podujevo and Priština municipalities. At the beginning of
December 2000, Shehu returned to Albania, where he continued with his
activities within FNUA and ANA, as its military wing.
154.
ELBASAN SHOSHAJ
Born
on December 12th, 1963, in the village of Leskovac,
Municipality of Priština. He was the KLA commander for the villages of
Poslište, Biluša and Ljeskovac in 1998. He personally took part in a
number of assassination of the non-Albanian population, together with
Gjimshit Krasniqi and Besim Shala. They received written and oral
commands for the assassination of the Serb population from the so-called
court martial, headed by Sokol Dobruna, from Djakovica, and Ilaz
Kadolli, from Suva Reka While he was carrying out his tasks of the
deputy head of the counterintelligence service, and following the orders
of his superior, Skender Berisha, he committed a few assassinations and
exiled a number of Serbs and other non-Albanian citizens, and kidnapped
and harassed the members of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs. He
is a participant of the massacre committed on January 11, 2000, of the
Skenderi family in the Prizren’s district of Tusus.
155. BEKIM (Vesel) SHUTI, alias "Niku"
Born
on May 1st, 1976, in the village of Osljani, Municipality of
Vučitrn. He was the commander of the special KLA unit in the operative
zone of Shala. at the beginning of May 1999, this unit, numbering 40
trained members, kidnapped Ljubomir Knežević, from Vučitrn, the
correspondent of the dailies "Politika" and "Jedinstvo" from the said
city. Knežević was taken to the headquarters situated in the Osljani
village, where he was tortured, and subsequently murdered. Also in May
1999, the same group murdered Miroslav Spirić, the driver of the
president of the municipal assembly of Vučitrn, and in June of the same
year, Shuti personally killed Milorad Avramović, from the village of
Osljani. Following the withdrawal of the Serbian security forces, Shuti,
with the entire unit, forcefully entered into 40 Serb apartments in the
southern part of Kosovska Mitrovica, and when UNMIK police members tried
to evict some of the illegal Albanian tenants, he organized the members
of his unit to prevent that action, threatening the use of explosives.
In 2001, together with Ronald Bartetsky, he took part in the murder of
an employee of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs, Aleksandar
Petrović, the head of the passports department in the liaison office
with UNMIK in Priština. However, for this murder, an attempted murder
and terrorism, only a German citizen, married to the sister of Bekim
Shuti, was sentenced. For a time, Shuti was engaged as the commander of
the KPC guard unit in Priština, and is currently holding one of the top
positions in KPC in Kosovska Mitrovica.
156.
MET (Sefer) SHUTI
Born on October 3rd,
1944, in the village of Osljani, Municipality of Vučitrn. Until 1989, he
was an employee of the Secretariat of National Defense in Vučitrn.
Shortly after KLA was formed, he became a member of the general staff
for the operative zone of Shala, in charge of training the new members.
He took part in kidnapping and murder of Ljubomir Knežević,
"Politika" correspondent from Vučitrn and, toward the end of February
1999, in the murder of the brothers Milan and Marko Milošević, in front
of their house in the village of Bukoš. He is currently engaged in the
general staff of the 4th RTG of KPC in Kosovska Mitrovica,
with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Although the
Albanian population of the municipality of Medveđa is not a
majority, the Albanian extremists treat it as a part of the
unitary ethnic area.
A terrorist
organization founded in late 1999 which intensified armed
activities in Macedonia, K&M and in the south of Serbia in 2002.
Thus, for
example, the Gecaj, Kodra, Jashari and Selimi families dominate
in Drenica, so that the largest
Most members of
the party are former members and supporters of KLA. It has been
led, from the beginning, by Hashim Thaqi. It was founded on
October 14th 1999 under the name of Party of Democratic Progress
of Kosovo and was renamed on May 20th 2000 before the local
elections in K&M.
Founded on May
2nd 2000 in order to satisfy political ambitions of Ramush
Haradinaj, one of the main
commanders of KLA.
This
paramilitary formation was set up with the intention of
representing the core of independent armed
forces of
independent Kosovo.
The
intelligence suggests that Xhavit Haliti, the current
vice-president of the Kosovo Governments, one of KLA founders
and key person in developments of its logistics was the murder
organizer. Supporters of Ibrhim Rugova and Haliti are considered
responsible for the murder of Tahir Zemaj, another AFRK
commander, who was shot in early January 2003.
In comparison
with all other political parties in K&M, NKM is the only one
with the so-called political
It was
possible to "buy out" membership in KLA units by paying two to
five thousand German marks to the local KLA commander, allegedly
for the needs of the organization, although substantial part of
these resources ended up in private pockets.
On March 24th
1999 The Times published an article entitled "Drug Money related
to Kosovo Rebels" by its correspondents from Bohn, Roger Boyes,
and Eske Wright.
The formation
was set up by the UN mission for K&M as "a service agency for
emergency interventions". To fill the positions of 3,052 active
duty and 2,000 reserve duty troops, 17,348 former KLA members
and 2,923 civilians applied.
The Albanian
leadership at the time tried to prejudice the role of KPC with
the introduction of the adjective mbrojtje with twofold
meaning: protective and defensive, which is the reason why the
international representatives insist on the English term (Kosovo
Protection Corps), which is not equivocal. to be trained and
advanced professionally , has made it possible for the KPC to
provide, through training and instructions, direct participation
in the actions, personnel and logistic support to subsequently
developed Albanian terrorist and already existing criminal
organizations.
In late
January 2001, Bujanovac Internal Affairs Department pressed
criminal charges for robbery and
armed robbery
against Lirim Jakupi, aka "Nazi", a member of LAPMV for
Bujanovac, for his violent behavior, robbery and blackmail of
his well-off compatriots.
Among them
also Shaqir Shaqiri, originally from Oraovica, near Preševo, who
was at the time the deputy commander of the 6th regional KPC
territorial group, while Junuz Musliu of Bujanovac was the
logistics officer in the same zone. NLA activities in western
Macedonia were organized by Daut Haradinaj who was the commander
of the 3rd regional KPC territorial group in 2001.
Some high
ranking officials of the Democratic Party of Albanians in
Macedonia are among the participants in this chain.
In the heat of
armed conflicts in the region of Bujanovac, from February
through March 2001, Lirim
cannons" etc. ) from Nuredin
Lushtaku, commander of the 114th brigade (within the 2nd
regional KPC
Transport of
arms via K&M territory to the FYRepublic of Macedonia was
organized by Mustafa Shaqiri, aka commander Schpetim, who was
the deputy commander of the
General Staff.
The leadership
consists of the same strategists of terrorist activities as
those of LAPMB.
The same
scenario and similar effects were seen in FYROM where, after
demilitarization of NLA, the
Ilirida Liberation Army was
founded.
In the
meantime, Rustem Mustafa was arrested by KFOR and by the
decision of the International Panel of Judges of the Priština
District Court sentenced to 17 years of imprisonment for the war
crimes perpetrated in the region of Priština and Podujevo.
At the time of
its foundation, the FNUA was called National Committee for the
Liberation of Occupied
Territories (NCLOT). The name was
changed in mid July 2002. ANS and ANF were founded in early
2003.
Isuf Sulaj,
Hekuran Aslani, Idriz Smotaha, Spiro Butka and Genc Sefa who
used to be high ranking officers in KLA are now top leaders of
ANA.
Estimates of
the number of ANA troops by various analyses range from several
dozens to 2-3 thousand armed terrorists.
According to
some estimates, almost complete reserve forces of KPC, some
2,000 troops, are included in ANA.
In mid 2003
the western media reported that, from June 1999, most terrorist
attacks were those of the
Albanian extremists against the
Serbs and members of other ethnic minorities. This has resulted
in the
expulsion of almost 240,000 people
from K&M, while the representatives of the minorities who had
remained in the Province were grouped and isolated in their
enclaves.
KLA had DM 1.2
million at its disposal for the liquidations of DPK activists,
RK Government and AFRKcommanders. The "Eagles" group, with
direct access to the Executive Command, was in charge of these
activities. In addition to Ahmet Isufi and Tahir Zemaj, who
headed AFRK, Enver Maloku, the head of DPK Information Center in
Priština, Fehmi Agani, the DPK vice-president, Xhemail Mustafa,
Information adviser to Ibrahim Rugova, Besim Dujaku, a member of
Rugova‘s security service, Sali Çekaj the chairman of DPK German
branch and a lot of other outstanding members in small towns
were also killed.
In 2000,
"International Police Review" published an article about the
connection between organized
crime and KLA in which it was
stated that the members of KLA did not smuggle drugs, but were
financially dependent on the people who did, which "provided the
criminals with an opportunity to influence an army of 30,000
armed troops who are in control of the postwar Kosovo".
The funding of
terrorist activities is also conducted through the Kosovo Fund
(until 1999 known as the
Fund of the Government of the
Republic of Kosovo), located in Germany. The money for the fund
was
collected by a regular, often
enforced 3% taxation imposed on the income of the Albanians
working in West European countries and also by voluntary
donations.
These data are
revealed in the Council of Europe report on the situation in
K&M, for the January to April 2000 period. The same statements
have been made by Max Edelbacher, the chief of the Security
Bureau from Vienna, after his visit to K&M in April 2000.
On April 30th
2000, the Scottish paper "Sunday Herald", in an article
headlined "Kosovo – where the
police does not rule", cited an
unidentified member of the military intelligence service from
the Bondsteel
base, who said that "the crime rate
in Kosovo is the same as that in Los Angeles". The author of the
article
In their
report for 2000, the representatives of the Council of Europe
have voiced their concern over the
links between the former KLA and
the KPS, that is, over the fact that KPS is hiring former
policemen of
Albanian nationality who are
generally believed to be corrupt.
Some clans
were obliged to pay the terrorist organization ANA monthly
payments amounting to Euro
He was
arrested by the multinational forces and received a long-term
prison sentence. This provoked a
The drug
trafficking centers in Macedonia are Gostivar, Kumanovo and
Skopje, where the local narcomafia rented a whole floor at the
Grand Hotel and made it its headquarters.
Beside the
listed criminal activities, in K&M there is also a developed
illegal trade in oil derivatives.
According to the Priština paper
"Koha Ditore", which is printed in Albanian, some 100 tons of
petrol are
smuggled from Montenegro to K&M.
The Interpol
data show that more than one ton of heroin and more than 10
tones of hashish are being seized every year on the southern and
northern Balkan routes.
In Germany,
for example, the Albanians have completely ousted the Turkish
and the Kurdish drug dealers. In Slovakia and Hungary they
control 90% of the drug trade, in Switzerland 70%, in Denmark
50%, and in France 40% of the market. There has been a growth in
the shipments of narcotics to Albanian criminals in Greece,
which are, as reported by the Greek police, six times larger
than five years ago.
The "Atlantic"
brigade was formed within KLA of the volunteers from the USA.
The
information published in the "National Post" on April 13th
2000 where the author cited the Interpol
The statement
that Albanians from K&M exchange drugs for arms was
substantiated in numerous affairs. In 1999 the Italian Court in
Brindisi convicted an Albanian heroin dealer who confessed to
having procured arms for KLA from the mafia in exchange for the
drugs. Besides, an Albanian in the Czech Republic placed an
order for light infantry weapons and rocket launchers. According
to the sources in the Czech Police, the arms were intended for
KLA.
The criminal
bosses from the ranks of K&M Albanians provided false Yugoslav
passports for some of Albanian nationals, in order to make it
possible for them to seek asylum as political refugees from
immigration authorities in some Western European countries.
Migrations are
not only the source of income, they also play an important role
in the establishment of
networks in foreign countries, i.e.
providing bridges with Albanian mafia abroad.
According to
the Interpol sources, the data refer to about 38,000 pistols,
226,000 "Kalashnikovs" (machine guns), 25,000 automatic rifles,
2,400 anti-tank rocket launchers, 3,500,000 hand grenades, 3,600
tons of explosives. Although organized crime groups were not,
probably, controlling the situation, Interpol experts have
reasonable grounds to assume that they have profited greatly
from this chaos, by acquiring large amounts of weapons. In their
opinion, before the breakdown of the financial pyramids, the sum
of about USD 500– 600 million was transferred to the accounts of
Italian criminal organizations and their Albanian partners.
Subsequently, the funds were re-invested in western countries.
Suggesting the
importance of the fight against organized crime in Albanian, in
June 2002, Joseph
Limprecht, American
Ambassador to Tirana, gave a statement to Radio Free Europe
highlighting the necessity for closing down the channels for
trafficking in drugs, arms, women and children, since they could
be used by the terrorists.
At one time,
all assets collected from the Albanian diaspora for the Tetovo
University were re-directed
to cover the needs of armed actions
of the terrorists of NLA. French analysts believe that these
funds also
originate from drug trafficking.
A certain
share of the fund was used for sponsoring parallel Albanian
educational and medical services
organized in order
to boycott completely the operation of the official state
organizations in K&M.
In the year
2000, it was estimated that the Albanian diaspora had the
following distribution: 500,000 in
Canada and the USA, 500,000 in
Greece, 400,000 in Germany, 200,000 in Switzerland, 65,000 in
Turkey,
On June 22nd
2001, referring to the statements of the leading representatives
of the Macedonian Security Forces, the Washington Times
published an article entitled "Bin Laden‘s Special Envoys"
claiming that Osama Bin Laden was one of the major NLA sponsors,
and that up to that periods he had disbursed USD 6-7 million for
the needs of this organization.
A presentation
before the USA Congress of Ralf Mutschke, the assistant director
of Interpol Criminal
intelligence Administration on
December 13th 2000. The topic was: The risk of
spreading of organized crime, drug trafficking and terrorism.
Abdulah
Duhajman of Saudi Arabia is the founder and head of the (Islamic
Balkan Center) in Zenica.
The Center was founded after the
nongovernmental organization named "World Bureau for Islamic
Call"
with the seat in Riyadh, sponsored
by rich businessmen of Saudi Arabia. Activities of the "World
Bureau
and the mobilization of Moslems for
the jihad. In the course of armed conflicts in B&H, Duhajman was
actively
participating in the battles within the unit called "El-Mujahid".
He is in touch with an Islamic terrorist organization named
"Muslim Brothers", and there are some indications of his
collaboration with Osama Bin Laden (some, unconfirmed
information suggest that Abdulah Duhajman may be an alias for
Osama Bin Laden himself).
The "Abu Bekir
Sidik" unit had automatic rifles of Yugoslav, Chinese and
Russian manufacture; they also had weapons with sniper scopes,
as well as 40mm grenade launchers, RPGs, light and heavy machine
guns, hand grenades and other weapons.
The British
Sunday Times cited Albanian intelligence sources stating that
the Bin Laden‘s network was set up in Albania to make it
possible for them to undertake actions in Europe. The service
also estimates that some terrorists have already infiltrated
selected European countries using illegal migration channels.
Analysts also suggest that the
region is important for Bin Laden and his followers because of
the possibility
to establish control over the oil
pipelines that will link Bulgaria with Albanian ports. In this
way, it would be possible for Bin Laden to control oil
deliveries to the USA.
Early in 2001,
the international nongovernmental organization "Amnesty
International" announced that in one of KFOR actions two Iraqi
nationals, Ahmad Said and Abdul Ragiz, were arrested, on
suspicion of being connected with international terrorist
network of Al-Khaida They were representatives of the
humanitarian organization known as "Global Relief Foundation".
Speaking about this, George Robertson, Secretary General of
NATO, said that "the infiltration of Islamic terrorism is
usually carried out through Islamic humanitarian organizations".
This is a
newly founded, illegal organization where even the name itself
suggests terrorist activities.
In March 2000,
BBC reported that KFOR had searched the premises and offices of
"Islamic relief", since American officials informed them that
the organization might be linked with Bin Laden. The
organization decisively rejected such accusations.
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