Kosovo fighter's sentence cut to 13 years despite court upholding convictions for murder and torture
Pjetër Shala was convicted a year ago for his role in the abuse of detainees being held by the Kosovo Liberation Army, or KLA, at a makeshift jail in a metal factory in Kukёs, northern Albania, during Kosovo's 1999 war for independence from Serbia.
The 62-year-old Shala watched Monday's hearing at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers by videoconference, and shook his head after Judge Kai Ambos of Germany rejected large parts of his appeal and handed down the new sentence.
The appeals panel, however, ruled that trial judges wrongly found him guilty of five cases of torture and two of arbitrary detention, saying there was insufficient evidence. But they upheld his convictions on the same counts for other detainees and for his role in the murder of one detainee, who was shot and then denied medical treatment.
In reducing his sentence, the three-judge appeals panel ruled that trial judges didn't give sufficient weight to the fact that Shala didn't hold a command role when the man was murdered. The appeals judges also said that the original 18-year sentence was 'out of reasonable proportion to comparable cases,' the court said in a statement.
Kosovo's 1998-1999 fight to break away from Serbia was led by the KLA, whose main leaders, including former President Hashim Thaci, are now being tried in The Hague.
More than 13,000 people, mostly ethnic Albanians, died during the war, before a NATO bombing campaign forced Serbia to pull its troops out of the country and to cede control to the United Nations and NATO. Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, which was recognized by the United States and most of the West, but not by Serbia or its allies Russia and China.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
26 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Witnesses to Felix Baumgartner's fatal paragliding crash heard large boom as it spun to the ground
PORTO SANT'ELIPIDO, Italy (AP) — Beachgoers knew something was wrong when they heard a loud boom ring out as a paraglider spun out of control, killing its only occupant, extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner, when it crashed next to a swimming pool near the Adriatic Sea. A 30-year-old mother watched the deadly descent unfold Thursday afternoon from nearby with her two young children, who were entranced by the constant traffic of paragliders above the beach town of Porto Sant'Elipido in central Italy's Marche region. 'Everything was normal, then it started to spin like a top,'' Mirella Ivanov said Friday. 'It went down and we heard a roar. In fact, I turned around because I thought it crashed on the rocks. Then I saw two lifeguards running, people who were running toward' the crash site. When she saw people trying to revive the occupant, she scurried her two children away. The city's mayor confirmed the death of 56-year-old Baumgartner, who was renowned as the first skydiver to fall faster than the speed of sound. The cause of the paragliding accident was under investigation. Police did not return calls asking for comment. 'It is a destiny that is very hard to comprehend for a man who has broke all kinds of records, who has been an icon of flight, and who traveled through space,' Mayor Massimiliano Ciarpella told The Associated Press. Ciarpella said that Baumgartner had been in the area on vacation, and that investigators believed he may have fallen ill during the fatal flight. Baumgartner's social media feed features videos of him in recent days flying on a motorized paraglider —known as paramotoring — above seaside towns, and taking off from a nearby airfield surrounded by cornfields. The Clube de Sole Le Mimose beachside resort where the crash occurred said in a statement that an employee who was 'slightly injured' in the accident was in good condition. No guests were injured, and the pool has been reopened. In 2012, Baumgartner, known as 'Fearless Felix,' became the first human to break the sound barrier with only his body. He wore a pressurized suit and jumped from a capsule hoisted more than 24 miles (39 kilometers) above Earth by a giant helium balloon over New Mexico. The Austrian, who was part of the Red Bull Stratos team, topped out at 843.6 mph — the equivalent of 1.25 times the speed of sound — during a nine-minute descent. At one point, he went into a potentially dangerous flat spin while still supersonic, spinning for 13 seconds, his crew later said. Baumgartner's altitude record stood for two years until Google executive Alan Eustace set new marks for the highest free-fall jump and greatest free-fall distance. In 2012, millions watched YouTube's livestream as Baumgartner coolly flashed a thumbs-up when he came out of the capsule high above Earth and then activated his parachute as he neared the ground, lifting his arms in victory after he landed. Baumgartner, a former Austrian military parachutist, made thousands of jumps from planes, bridges, skyscrapers and famed landmarks, including the Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil. In 2003, he flew across the English Channel in a carbon fiber wing after being dropped from a plane. In recent years, he performed with The Flying Bulls, an aviation team owned and operated by Red Bull, as a helicopter stunt pilot in shows across Europe.
San Francisco Chronicle
26 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Trump's pivot from aid to trade leaves Africa wary as it faces tariffs and uncertainty
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — When U.S. President Donald Trump met five African leaders in Washington in July, his lack of familiarity with the continent was on display. He praised Liberian President Joseph Boakai's English — Liberia's official language — and gestured at another leader to wrap up remarks. But the bigger takeaway was Trump's pledge to transform U.S.-Africa relations: a shift from aid to trade, even as the region reels from steep tariffs and sweeping aid cuts. African leaders offered minerals from manganese to uranium and possibly lithium. Senegal's president even sought to leverage Trump's love of golf by inviting him to build a course. Yet many nations are anxious about Washington's new path. After slashing billions in foreign aid, including shutting down the U.S. Agency for International Development — which provided over $12 billion in humanitarian assistance in 2025 alone — the Trump administration says it is forging a new approach: 'commercial diplomacy.' Trade, not aid, is the order of the day. 'It is now truly our policy for Africa,' said Troy Fitrell, the top U.S. diplomat for Africa, when announcing the strategy in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, in May. Ambassadors will now be judged not by aid projects but on 'how well they support' local businesses and 'how effectively they advocate for U.S. business and the number of deals they facilitate,' he said. Africa accounts for less than 1% of U.S. goods trade, but Fitrell called it 'the world's largest untapped market,' projecting its purchasing power could surpass $16 trillion by 2050. Early deals, lingering doubts Washington touts quick progress: 33 agreements worth $6 billion in Trump's first 100 days, plus $2.5 billion in commitments at a U.S.-Africa business summit in June. Projects span grain storage and digital infrastructure in Angola, energy ventures in Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Congo, and tourism in Ethiopia. Still, many worry about the costs. Job losses and economic pain from tariffs are mounting even as Washington celebrates these wins. Trump did not invent the idea of trade over aid. African leaders have pushed for this since the 1970s. The problem, critics say, is the caveat: steep tariffs and uncertainty over the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), the U.S. flagship program for trade with the continent. 'In reality, these tariffs are not about trade balances. It's economic warfare,' said the Alternative Information and Development Centre, a South African NGO. Fears that jobs could go Trump has imposed a 30% tariff on selected South African goods and threatens another 10% for nations aligned with the BRICS bloc of developing economies. South Africa's Automotive Business Council says vehicle exports to the U.S. have plunged over 80%, warning that tariffs 'strike at the heart of South Africa's industrialization agenda.' More than 100,000 jobs, mostly in auto and agriculture, are at risk, the council says. Smaller nations are also reeling. Lesotho declared a state of disaster after being hit with 50% duties — the second-highest rate after China — before Trump announced a 90-day pause. About 12,000 textile jobs hang in the balance, according to Lesotho's Minister of Trade, Industry, and Business Development, Mokhethi Shelile. From vanilla farmers in Madagascar to cocoa growers in Ivory Coast and oil exporters in Nigeria, tariffs have shaken economies and raised doubts about Washington's intent. 'The U.S. certainly can't have it both ways,' said Bester Brendon Verster, an economist at Oxford Economics Africa. 'The 'aid to trade' stance risks leaving Africa behind once the U.S. has gotten what it wanted, which will probably be critical minerals." An agreement on the brink AGOA, enacted in 2000 and renewed in 2015, allows duty-free U.S. access for nearly 2,000 goods from 32 African nations. It expires in September, with no clear sign that it will be renewed. South Africa's trade minister warned it will be 'very difficult' to keep AGOA under current conditions. Fitrell said he is a 'big fan' of the deal but told African leaders they must do more to lobby Congress. Future arrangements may require 'much greater attention toward some form of reciprocity' to reflect Trump's push for U.S. economic interests, he said. Meanwhile, China is leveraging zero-tariff policies to expand its influence. In June, China — already Africa's biggest trading partner — said it plans to grant duty-free market access to 53 African nations. Still, Verster said some African nations might be cautious about strengthening ties with China, for fear of triggering retaliation from the U.S. 'Aligning with China … could possibly bring about more economic punishment from the U.S.," he said.
Los Angeles Times
26 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Britain is lowering the voting age to 16. It's getting a mixed reaction
LONDON — There has been a mixed reaction in Britain to the government's announcement that it will lower the voting age from 18 to 16 before the next national election. The Labor Party administration says it's part of a package of changes to strengthen British democracy and help restore trust in politics. The opposition says it's a power-grab by the left. Experts say it's complicated, with mixed evidence about how lowering the voting age affects democracy and election outcomes. Britain's voting age last fell in 1969, when the U.K. became one of the first major democracies to lower it from 21 to 18. Many other countries, including the United States, followed suit within a few years. Now the government says it will lower the threshold to 16 by the time the next general election is held, likely in 2029. That will bring the whole country into line with Scotland and Wales, which have semiautonomous governments and already let 16- and 17-year-olds vote in local and regional elections. A handful of other countries currently have a voting age of 16, including Austria, Brazil and Ecuador. A few European Union countries, including Belgium, Germany and Malta, allow 16-year-olds to vote in elections to the European Parliament. Supporters argue that 16-year-olds in Britain can work and pay taxes, so should be allowed to vote. 'If you pay in, you should have the opportunity to say what you want your money spent on,' Prime Minister Keir Starmer said. Pro-democracy organizations welcomed the lower age, and a move toward automatic voter registration, saying it would help increase voting rates. Turnout in the 2024 election was 59.7%, the lowest level in more than two decades. The age change is part of a package of electoral reforms that includes tightening campaign financing rules and broadening the range of documents that can be used as identification at polling stations. Supporters argue it will increase democratic participation by getting teenagers into the habit of voting at a time when most are still in school. 'Younger people who are in full-time education and often still live at home can make for better, more engaged first-time voters compared with 18- to 20-year-olds, who often experience their first election in a highly transitory phase of their lives,' Christine Huebner, a social scientist at the University of Sheffield who has studied youth voting, wrote in The Guardian. Opponents argue that 16- and 17-year-olds should not be given the vote because in most ways they are not considered adults. 'Why does this government think a 16-year-old can vote but not be allowed to buy a lottery ticket, an alcoholic drink, marry, or go to war, or even stand in the elections they're voting in?' Conservative lawmaker Paul Holmes asked Thursday in the House of Commons. Mark Goodwin, a senior lecturer in politics at Coventry University, agreed the move could seem paradoxical, because 'socially, if anything, we're moving in the opposite direction.' 'Increasingly the age of majority, the age at which you become a fully capable and responsible adult, is moving more towards 18,' he said. The government's political opponents on the right argue that Labor hopes to benefit from 1.5 million new potential young voters who generally lean to the left. Nigel Farage, leader of the hard-right party Reform UK, said Labor was trying to 'rig the system.' Conservative former foreign secretary James Cleverly said the government had cynically announced the change because it is 'tanking in the polls.' Experts say enfranchising 16- and 17-year-olds is unlikely to dramatically change election results, because they are a relatively small group with diverse views. And it's far from clear that Labor will reap most of the benefits of a bigger youth vote. U.K. politics, long dominated by Labor and the Conservatives, is becoming increasingly fragmented. Polling suggests younger voters lean left, but they are split among several parties including Labor, the Greens and the Liberal Democrats. Farage's embrace of TikTok has built his brand with youth, and Reform has some support among young men. Goodwin said that in many parts of the world, 'young people are abandoning the center-left in droves. 'And in many cases, they're lending their support to parties of the populist right, or challenger parties, outsider parties, independents, more alternative parties,' he said. 'If it is a cynical ploy to get more Labor votes, there's certainly an element of risk about where those votes would ultimately be cast.' Lawless writes for the Associated Press.
