Sylejman Selimi, Nexhat Qubreli, Ismet Haxha and Shefki Hyseni have been acquitted of all charges. The presiding judge said it was not established beyond a reasonable doubt whether the accused, as former KLA members, committed war crimes.

Selimi, Qubreli, Haxha and Hyseni were accused of war crimes that are alleged to have been carried out in 1998 in the Mitrovica region.

The indictment was largely based on the testimonies of two protected witnesses. This is the second trial for Sylejman Selimi and Ismet Haxha as the two have yet to be tried on another case known as the Drenica Group.

The defence hailed the court’s decision saying the indictment was intentional and was aimed at discrediting the personality of Selimi and the others.

The prosecutor of the case, Diana Wiliamson said the indictment was never against the KLA but against individuals. She said the prosecution will review the verdict and will decide whether to appeal or not.