Former U.S. diplomat James Rubin, who testified for three days in The Hague, has stated that the judges’ questions during his testimony appeared biased, and he called on the court to declare former KLA leaders not guilty.
Rubin, the first witness called by Hashim Thaçi’s defense, began his testimony on September 15, emphasizing that Thaçi’s role within the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) was primarily political. According to Rubin, Thaçi did not have authority to make military decisions independently and had to obtain approval from commanders for significant operational actions.
In a recent interview with Christiane Amanpour, Rubin explained that the judges’ line of questioning during his three-day testimony seemed unusually one-sided.
“I testified for three long days, and to my surprise, the judges asked questions that seemed extremely biased. They did not feel aimed at uncovering the facts. The prosecutor has the right to present their case, and so does the defense. Judges are supposed to collect evidence to make a fair judgment. From the questions I received, I felt the court had already decided that the KLA was a fully functioning organization and that Hashim Thaçi was in command, which is not accurate. This court should do the right thing, acquit the former KLA leaders, and then the U.S. and Europe should sit down with the leaders of Kosovo and Serbia to resolve this issue,” Rubin said.
Rubin’s testimony forms part of the ongoing trial regarding alleged crimes committed by former KLA leaders during and after the Kosovo conflict.
