Sylejman Selimi (born September 25, 1970) is the former 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 Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and Serbia ...

, military organisation, who was convicted of war crimes for the

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts ...

and

inhuman treatment Cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment (CIDT) is treatment of persons which is contrary to human rights or dignity, but is not classified as torture. It is forbidden by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 3 of the European Convention ...

of prisoners at the Likovac detention center during the

Kosovo War The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the w ...

. After the war, he served as

Security Force Security forces are statutory organizations with internal security mandates. In the legal context of several nations, the term has variously denoted police and military units working in concert, or the role of military and paramilitary forces (s ...

of the

Republic of Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Europ ...

;"Kosovo security forces to become operative"
'' b92.net'' 20 January 2009 Link retrieved 21-01-09"Lt. Gen. Selimi appointed as Chief of Staff of Kosovo army"
''newkosovoareport.com'' 20 December 2009 Link accessed 21-01-09"Kosovo's security force launched"
''

news.bbc.co.uk BBC News Online is the website of BBC News, the division of the BBC responsible for newsgathering and production. It is one of the most popular news websites, with 1.2 billion website visits in April 2021, as well as being used by 60% of the ...

'' 21 January 2009 Link Retrieved 21-01-09 he left this position in 2011 and became the ambassador to

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the ...

Personal life

Selimi was born on September 25, 1970 in the village of Açarevë,

Drenica Drenica ( al, Drenicë, Drenica, ), also known as the Drenica Valley, is a hilly region in central Kosovo, covering roughly around of Kosovo's total area (6%). It consists of two municipalities, Drenas and Skenderaj, and several villages in Kl ...

. At the time, it was a part of

SAP Kosovo The Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Socijalistička Autonomna Pokrajina Kosovo, Социјалистичка Аутономна Покрајина Косово, separator=" / ", sq, Krahina Socialiste Autonome e Kosovë ...

. He finished primary education in his home town, attended his high school in Kline and finished his studies at the Faculty of Mining and Metallurgy in

Kosovska Mitrovica Mitrovica ( sq-definite, Mitrovicë; sr-cyrl, Митровица) or Kosovska Mitrovica ( sr-cyrl, Косовска Митровица) is a city and municipality located in Kosovo. Settled on the banks of Ibar and Sitnica rivers, the city is ...

Career

* * * * * * *

History

Prior to the Kosovo Security force, Selimi was commander of its predecessor, the

Kosovo Protection Corps The Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC; sq, Trupat e Mbrojtjes së Kosovës (TMK)) was a civilian emergency services organisation in Kosovo active from 1999 to 2009. The KPC was created on September 21, 1999, through the promulgation of UNMIK Regulat ...

. On 19 December 2008, Selimi was appointed commander of the Kosovo Security force by

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Hashim Thaçi Hashim Thaçi (; born 24 April 1968) is a Kosovar Albanian politician who was the president of Kosovo from April 2016 until his resignation on 5 November 2020 to face a war crimes tribunal. He was the first prime minister of Kosovo and the ...

. During the Insurgency in Kosovo and the subsequently intense

, he was the commander of

, an ethnic-Albanian paramilitary organisation that sought the separation of Kosovo from the

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Y ...

(FRY) during the 1990s and the eventual creation of a

Greater Albania Greater Albania is an irredentist and nationalist concept that seeks to unify the lands that many Albanians consider to form their national homeland. It is based on claims on the present-day or historical presence of Albanian populations in th ...

. Despite his noted contributions as the primary commander of the KLA, his lack of military experience inflicted heavy losses on the KLA's initial campaign. Due to these severe losses, he would later be replaced by the

Croatian Army The Croatian Army ( hr, Hrvatska kopnena vojska or HKoV) is the largest and most significant component of the Croatian Armed Forces (CAF). Role and deployment The fundamental role and purpose of the Croatian Army is to protect vital national ...

veteran,

Agim Çeku Agim Çeku ( sh, Agim Čeku, born 29 October 1960) is a Kosovan politician, the former minister of Security Forces in Kosovo and formerly the prime minister. Of military background, he was a commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) that f ...

. Selimi insisted:

War crimes

Selimi was convicted by Kosovo courts of torturing a civilian prisoner at a KLA detention camp in Likovc/Likovac. He received an eight-year prison sentence but later the court cut his sentence to seven years and was conditionally released in January 2019. Kosovo politicians celebrated his release, with President

Hashim Thaci Hashim ( ar, هاشم) is a common male Arabic given name. Hashim may also refer to: * Hashim Amir Ali * Hashim (poet) * Hashim Amla *Hashim Thaçi * Hashim Khan * Hashim Qureshi * Mir Hashim Ali Khan *Hashim al-Atassi *Hashim ibn Abd Manaf * Has ...

stating: "Kosovo is better and safer with the living hero Sylejman Selimi at liberty."

References

Living people Kosovan diplomats Ambassadors of Kosovo to Albania 1970 births Kosovo Liberation Army soldiers 20th-century Albanian military personnel 20th-century Albanian politicians Kosovo Albanians People convicted of war crimes People convicted of torture Military personnel from Skenderaj {{Kosovo-bio-stub

Personal life

Career

History

War crimes

See also

References