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| Salih Mustafa in the court session against him in The Hague |
The defense of the former commander of the KLA sought exoneration and the release of Salih Mustafa, not a reduction in the sentence, but their appeals were rejected by the Specialized Chambers in The Hague.
The Specialized Chambers in The Hague announced the Appeals decision for the case of the former commander of the KLA's BIA Unit, Salih Mustafa, accused of war crimes, upholding the guilt verdict for war crimes but overturning the unified sentence of 26 years imprisonment and imposing a sentence of 22 years imprisonment.
According to the decision, the time Salih Mustafa spent in pre-trial detention will also be credited as part of the sentence extension.
Salih Mustafa had filed 51 appeals before the Appeals Panel against the sentencing decision of 26 years in prison pronounced against him by the Special Court on December 16, 2022. The defense sought exoneration and release, not a reduction in the sentence.
Michel Picard, the presiding judge in Mustafa's case, stopped at each piece of evidence that Mustafa had challenged on appeal, providing details and dismissing the majority of them, REL reports.