Kosovo's Drenica Group Appeal War Crimes Convictions

A defence lawyer for one of the so-called Drenica Group ex-guerrillas, who were sentenced to a total of 65 years in jail for war crimes, said on Tuesday that they will appeal against the convictions, which he called a "legal massacre".

Tome Gashi, a lawyer representing Sylejman Selimi, a commander during the war in Kosovo who is also Pristina's former ambassador to Albania and ex-head of the Kosovo Security Force, said the verdict was "politically influenced".

"The verdict is a legal massacre? the legal language used in the verdict is very low, the verdicts? contain many untruths," Gashi told newspaper Epoka e Re.

Gashi said the hoped the appeals court would not rule according to "the political opinions of [the EU's rule-of-law mission in Kosovo] EULEX and the international community that generally hates the Kosovo Liberation Army".

Also convicted in May was the mayor of Skenderaj/Srbica, Sami Lushtaku, who was jailed for murdering an Albanian civilian in September 1998.

Selimi was found guilty of torturing a civilian in an improvised KLA detention centre in the village of Likovc/Likovac in the Skenderaj/Srbica municipality in 1998 and early 1999.

Three other former 'Drenica Group' members, Jahir Demaku, Zeqir Demaku and Isni Thaci, were sentenced to seven years for the torture of civilians at the Likovc/Likovac detention centre.

Ex-guerrillas Agim Demaj, Bashkim Demaj, Driton Demaj, Selman Demaj, Fadil Demaku, Nexhat Demaku were also sentenced to three years for beatings at the detention centre.

Four more former KLA fighters - Sabit Geci, Ismet Haxha, Sahit Jashari and Avni Zabeli - were found not guilty.