Kosovo tribunal convicts veterans' leaders over witness intimidation

FILE PHOTO: Leader of Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) veterans' association Hysni Gucati appears in court before the Kosovo Specialist Chambers on charges of obstruction and intimidation for allegedly revealing names of protected witnesses who testified before the special war crimes court, in The Hague, Netherlands October 7, 2021. REUTERS/Piroschka van De Wouw/Pool

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - In its first ever judgment a special tribunal in The Hague jailed two leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) on Wednesday for revealing names of hundreds of protected witnesses involved in war crimes cases.

Judges at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers found that Hysni Gucati and Nasim Haradinaj, who ran the KLA veterans association, in September 2020 gave Kosovo media and politicians confidential court documents that included names and personal data from witnesses involved in war crimes investigations.