Isak Musliu (born 31 October 1970) is a former member of

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 or UÇK in

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

Early life

Musliu was born on 31 October 1970 in Reçak, which is now part of

Shtime Shtime ( sq-definite, Shtimja) or Štimlje ( sr-Cyrl, Штимље), is a town and municipality located in the Ferizaj District of Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, the town of Shtime has 7,225 inhabitants, while the municipality has 27,324 ...

Career

He was known as “Qerqiz” 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 ...

. He was a commander in the

Battle of Llapushnik The Battle of Llapushnik (Serbian language, Serbian:''Битка код Лапушника'', Albanian language, Albanian: ''Beteja e Grykës së Llapushnikut'') took place on 7-10 May and 25-26 july, 1998 in the village of Llapushnik, in the di ...

. After the

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 ...

, he was accused by the

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

of a series of beatings and murders in the KLA's

Lapušnik prison camp Lapušnik prison camp was a detention camp (also referred to as a prison) that was operated by the Kosovo Liberation Army, an Albanian militant organization, near the city of Drenas in central Kosovo during the Kosovo War. It was operational in ...

against

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

civilians and suspected

Albanians The Albanians are an ethnic group native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, Albanian culture, culture, Albanian history, history and Albanian language, language. They are the main ethnic group of Albania and Kosovo, ...

opposed to the UÇK between May and July 1998 during the

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 ...

. He was accused of being a commander who failed in his duties to follow the

Geneva Conventions upright=1.15, The original document in single pages, 1864 The Geneva Conventions are international humanitarian laws consisting of four treaties and three additional protocols that establish international legal standards for humanitarian t ...

, and Musliu soon after pleaded not guilty and denied any responsibility for the killings. The most serious incident listed in the indictment is said to have occurred on July 26 that year, when the facility was abandoned in the face of a Serb Army advance. Prosecutors claimed that

Haradin Bala Haradin Bala (10 June 1957 31 January 2018), also known as Shala, was a Kosovo Albanian former commander of the Albanian militant organization Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA, or UÇK in Albanian). He was convicted of war crimes and crimes against hu ...

and another guard led some 20 prisoners up into nearby mountains, where some were released and the rest were lined up and shot, allegedly on

Fatmir Limaj 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. He was known as "Çel ...

's orders. The prosecution also alleged that Muslim and Limaj ordered the killing of a Kosovar Albanian, who said he was going to the KLA headquarters but was executed and his body left on the street. Witnesses alleged that Qerqiz severely beat them, however, there was no confirmed identification of Musliu during multiple points because he wore a mask at all times. On 30 November 2005, Musliu was acquitted on all charges. He was released from custody the following day. His

acquittal In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal means that the criminal prosecution has failed to prove that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the charge presented. It certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an of ...

was confirmed on appeal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Musliu, Isak 1970 births Kosovo Albanians Living people People acquitted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia People from Shtime Place of birth missing (living people) Kosovo Liberation Army soldiers