Murdered Kosovo Albanian Could Have Been Serb Collaborator: Witness

Witness Shefki Bujari, who was the head of the village Duhel/Dulje for many years, told Remzi Shala's retrial at Prizren Basic Court on Wednesday that several murders during the Kosovo war, particularly in his village, could have happened because of personal resentments or suspicions that the victims were collaborating with Serbian forces.

Former Kosovo Liberation Army unit commander Shala is charged with war crimes for allegedly kidnapping an ethnic Albanian man, Haxhi Perteshi, together with other KLA members.

According to the indictment, Perteshi was abducted in June 1998 from his home in the village of Duhel/Dulje in the Suhareka/Suva Reka municipality. After having been held and tortured, Perteshi was later found dead.

Witness Bujari said that during the war, KLA fighters from Duhel/Dulje were sometimes accused of being spies for Serbian forces.

"I was close to a person who asked me where I was from, I told him that I was from Duhel/Dulje, he said that he was afraid of me. I asked him why? He told me that 'you are all spies in Duhel'," Bujari testified.

"I asked him to clarify what he said, and he replied: 'Haxhi Perteshi'," the witness added.

The incident happened after Perteshi was found dead, he said.

Bujari explained although he was the head of the village at the time, and was aware that many people were being arrested and mistreated, he "did not have access to what happened in the area" and cannot say who was responsible because he was fighting elsewhere.

He also said he had no knowledge or records of who killed Perteshi or that if the victims had any conflict with anyone.

Shala, who was known during wartime as 'The Red Apple', was initially convicted in 2019 of involvement of illegally...