The Special Kosovo Court in The Hague sentenced Pjeter Shala, a former member of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), to 18 years in prison on Tuesday for war crimes.
He was found guilty of arbitrary detention and torture of at least 18 people and for the unlawful killing of one person on June 5th, 1999, or approximately that date, in a metal factory in Kukes, Albania.
Judge Mappie Veldt-Foglia stated that the former metal factory in Kukes was used by the KLA from May 1998 to June 1999 for recruitment and logistics, among other things.
She added that the court received credible evidence that this facility was used for detaining, interrogating, and mistreating people suspected of collaborating or sympathizing with Serbian authorities, or not supporting KLA efforts sufficiently.
“The court identified 18 people… it heard firsthand testimony about the traumatic events they experienced during their captivity in this factory and the impact these events had on their lives and their families,” said Judge Veldt-Foglia.
Most of the victims were Kosovar Albanians who suffered harm from other Kosovar Albanians.
“They were not given food and water. One witness recalled that sometimes two detainees shared a single boiled egg. Detainees were not allowed to maintain hygiene. They had to request permission to use a poorly maintained toilet. Witnesses said that ‘not even animals would live in such conditions,'” Judge Veldt-Foglia said.
Veldt-Foglia also said that detainees were beaten and forced to beat each other, their teeth were broken, and they lived in constant fear, RSE writes.
