Fatmir Limaj (born 4 February 1971), is a Kosovo-Albanian politician. He is the leader of '' Nisma Socialdemokrate''. Limaj served as Minister of Transport and Telecommunication in the government of the

Republic of Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

. He was known as "Çeliku" during the

Yugoslav wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place from 1991 to 2001 in what had been the Socialist Federal Republic of ...

Biography

Limaj was born in the village of Banje, in the municipality of

Suva Reka Suva Reka ( sr-Cyrl, Сува Река) or Suharekë () or Therandë () is a town and municipality located in the Prizren district of central-southern Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, the town has 10,422 inhabitants, while the municipality ...

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

, (then

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

). His family is alleged to descend from the Thaçi tribe (''fis''), a claim that was made by Hashim Thaçi, a member of the tribe and the former

Prime Minister of Kosovo A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways ...

, during an interview on the Albanian show "Oxygen". During the 1999

Kosovo War The Kosovo War (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Косовски рат, Kosovski rat) was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It ...

, Limaj was a commander of the

Kosovo Liberation Army The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA; , UÇK) was an Albanians, ethnic Albanian separatist militia that sought the separation of Kosovo, the vast majority of which is inhabited by Albanians, from the Republic of Serbia (1992–2006), Republic of R ...

(KLA), in the Llapushnik area. He took part in the Battle of Llapusnik as a commander. His alias was ''Çeliku''. After the war he was one of the founders of what is now Kosovo's largest political party, the Democratic Party of Kosovo. After his indictment, which he was freed from in 2007 ( see below), he returned to politics. From 2007 to 2010, he served as the Minister of Transport. In the elections held in December 2010 he was third most voted leader in the whole country but he decided not to be part of the government. In 2014, he co-founded the Initiative for Kosovo Party (NISMA). Fatmir was

Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...

in the cabinet of Ramush Haradinaj from September 2017 to February 2020.

War crimes charges

Limaj was arrested on 18 February 2003, in

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (

ICTY The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to try their perpetrators. The tribun ...

) charged him, Isak Musliu and Haradin Bala with war crimes against Serbs and Albanians regarding illegal imprisonment, cruel treatment, inhuman acts, and murders in Lapušnik prison camp. On 4 March 2003, he was sent to

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, and on 15 November 2004, the trial began. In November 2005, Limaj was acquitted by the ICTY. In September 2007, The Appeals Chamber found that "the Trial Chamber reasonably found that Fatmir Limaj does not incur criminal responsibility for any of the offences charged in the indictment," Judge

Fausto Pocar Fausto Pocar (born 1939) is an Italian jurist. Biography He is professor emeritus of International Law at the University of Milan, where he also taught Private International Law and European Law, and where he served many years as Faculty Dean a ...

said. Limaj was charged in another war crime case by

European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo The European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, known as EULEX Kosovo or simply as EULEX,About EULEX
accessed 15 Jan ...

(EULEX) known as the "Klecka case". Prosecutors alleged that Limaj and others kept Serb and Albanian prisoners in a camp in the village of Klecka, subjecting them to inhumane conditions and beatings; seven Serbs and one Albanian was killed by subordinates under Limaj's command. The indictment was largely based on the diary of former KLA soldier Agim Zogaj who was one of the guards at the camp and subsequently committed suicide after repeated threats on his life. Limaj was acquitted in May 2012 along with three of his aides. The court found that Zogaj ("Witness X")'s diary and testimony was inadmissible. However, in November 2012, the Kosovo Supreme Court overruled the decision and ordered a re-trial. In May 2017, the Supreme Court acquitted him and the other defendants. In 2018, Limaj was found not guilty of war crimes by an international court for failing to prevent the killing of two Albanians during the Kosovo War.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Limaj, Fatmir 1971 births Albanian nationalists in Kosovo Living people Deputy prime ministers of Kosovo People from Malisheva Kosovo Albanians People acquitted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia Kosovo Liberation Army soldiers