KLA officer sentenced to 22 years in prison for war crimes in Kosovo

The Appeals Panel accepted Mustafa's appeal to the number of years in prison that he was sentenced to but ruled Mustafa guilty of arbitrarily holding captive, torturing and murdering Albanians believed by the KLA to be "collaborators," in the village of Zlas near Pristina in April 1999.

The initial ruling which orders that Mustafa is to pay 207,000 euros in damages to his victims remains.
Mustafa (51) and his KLA subordinates released after torture five captive Albanians in mid-April 1999, while one prisoner, who was left in Zlas ahead of an offensive by Serbian forces, died as a result of beatings and torture.

In pronouncing its judgment, the Court of Appeals Panel emphasized that the judgment “is a significant step towards providing justice to victims and ensuring accountability.”

The reduction of Mustafa’s sentence, “in no way suggests that the crimes for which he has been convicted and sentenced are not grave,” it said.

The Appeals Panel also stressed that it had confirmed Mustafa’s convictions for which he was found individually criminally responsible, and that, “neither the KLA nor the Kosovo people were the subject of these proceedings, and they have not been found responsible for or convicted of these crimes.”