Accessibility links

Breaking News

Panel Frees Albanian Jailed For Kosovo Bus Bombing


 Wreckage of the bus carrying the Serbian pilgrims, after the 2001 bombing
Wreckage of the bus carrying the Serbian pilgrims, after the 2001 bombing
PRISTINA (Reuters) -- A panel of international judges ordered the release of an ethnic Albanian convicted of a 2001 bus bombing that killed 11 Serbs in Kosovo, a spokeswoman has said.

Florim Ejupi received a 40-year sentence last year after he was found guilty of planting and detonating a bomb that killed 11 people and injured 22 on a bus carrying Serbian pilgrims to the monastery town of Gracanica. He appealed against the verdict.

"He is released," Karin Limdal, spokeswoman for the European Union police and justice mission (EULEX), said. She did not give a reason for the decision.

The EULEX mission, composed of international police officers, customs agents, judges, and prosecutors, was deployed in Kosovo in December to help the Balkan country build up its institutions.

The mission helps to settle unresolved cases, including more than 1,200 war crimes cases and others related to organized crime.

Kosovo Serbs oppose the deployment of the mission, because of its close cooperation with Pristina institutions.

Kosovo, where 90 percent of the 2 million people are ethnic Albanians, declared independence from Serbia in February 2008, with the backing of the West.

RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.

If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.

To find out more, click here.

XS
SM
MD
LG