The UN war crimes tribunal will deliver its verdict today in the trial of former Kosovan prime minister Ramush Haradinaj, who is charged with torturing and murdering Serbs to drive them out of the region.
Prosecutors are seeking a prison sentence of 25 years for Haradinaj (39) - a Kosovo Albanian commander of the separatist Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) - as well as for his two co-accused, also senior KLA figures during the 1998-99 war with Serb forces.
Haradinaj, his uncle Lahi Brahimaj, and Idriz Balaj, the commander of the KLA's "Black Eagles" special unit, have pleaded not guilty to charges of torture, murder, rape and deportation.
Prosecutors said Haradinaj, considered a hero by many Kosovo Albanians, kept a tight control over his guerrilla force and subjected any perceived collaborators among the local population to brutal treatment.
Haradinaj resigned as prime minister in 2005, a post he held for only a matter of months, after being indicted by the UN tribunal.
During the trial prosecutors said Haradinaj led a campaign to drive Serbs and Roma from their villages, with those left behind killed and tortured.
They alleged that KLA forces had used a lake and canal area as an execution ground, dumping the bodies of their civilian victims. Investigators recovered at least 31 bodies.
Others were tortured at a makeshift prison camp, where many died as a result of their injuries.