The international court for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on Friday denied a request by Kosovo's former prime minister to be provisionally freed before a new trial. Judges said this could encourage his supporters to intimidate witnesses.

Ramush Haradinaj, a former commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and considered a hero by Kosovo Albanians, was acquitted two years ago of torture, murder, rape and deportation.

According to the judges, prosecutors had failed to prove there was a deliberate campaign to kill and expel Serb civilians from Kosovo.

But appeals judges in July granted prosecutors' demands to have his 2008 acquittal by the ICTY overturned and Haradinaj has since been detained in The Hague.

In its decision Friday, the tribunal said Haradinaj did not pose a personal risk to the safety of witnesses or victims.

But it accepted the prosecution's argument that his release would draw more media attention, adding to a threatening atmosphere for witnesses, and that such publicity may encourage Haradinaj's supporters to engage in acts of intimidation.

"This is a good decision. The tribunal had to do it to maintain its credibility," said Oliver Ivanovic, a secretary of state in Serbia's ministry for Kosovo.

Intimidation

The tribunal said in its decision that witness intimidation was prevalent in Kosovo and there was an atmosphere of widespread intimidation surrounding the trial.

Mufail Limani, a Kosovo political analyst, said he was very concerned with the Tribunal's decision.

"Haradinaj has a lot of supporters in Kosovo, especially among former KLA soldiers. This (decision) will be a challenge for security in Kosovo," he said.

Haradinaj, a former nightclub bouncer, was prime minister for only a matter of months before he resigned in 2005 after being indicted by the U.N. tribunal.

He was the most senior former KLA guerrilla to be indicted over the 1997-99 war when ethnic Albanians and Serbian forces clashed and Serbia lost control of Kosovo. He now leads a political party, the opposition Alliance for the Future of Kosovo.

(Source: Reuters)