By Hajer M’tiri
PARIS (AA) - Former Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj will not be extradited to Serbia, a French court ruled Thursday.
The 48-year-old, who currently leads the opposition Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, is accused of committing war crimes in June 1999 when he was Kosovo Liberation Army commander.
The Court of Appeal in Colmar, northeast France, “gave an unfavorable opinion” on Serbia’s extradition request and lifted Haradinaj’s bail conditions, spokeswoman Sandra Di told Anadolu Agency.
The public prosecutor's office has five days to lodge an appeal, she added.
Haradinaj was arrested at Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg Airport in eastern France on Jan. 4 and later freed on bail pending court proceedings.
He was Kosovo’s premier from December 2004 to March 2005, when he stood down to face war crimes charges at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. He was twice acquitted.