A key witness in the trial of Ramush Haradinaj at the Hague tribunal did not want to testify in the case Monday, all the while saying that he could not answer questions and was unable to recall his earlier statements, in which he talked about crimes in the village of Jablanica, Kosovo.

he witness, Sefcet Kabasi, who was specifically asked by the prosecutor whether he would fear for his safety if he testified, said that he himself was not afraid to speak, but that he was not sure whether he feared for another person who was close to him. Throughout the hearing he constantly looked at the floor, breathing heavily and seemed to be very upset.

Kabasi was arrested in the Netherlands a few days ago and extradited to the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), to face charges of contempt of court from 2007, when he refused to testify at the first-instance trial against Haradinaj.

Where are the other witnesses questioned by the prosecution? I am lucky that I am still alive, and what about all those other witnesses? I know that they have been intimidated, that they fear for their lives, and both prosecution and defense spoke about that. I know very well that there are witnesses who are no longer living, Kabashi said. Who is responsible for that, he asked.

The testimony of Kabasi, one of the key witnesses in the trial of former Kosovo prime minister and former leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) Haradinaj, was scheduled for August 19, but was adjourned because the witness was not in the proper physical and mental state to appear before the court.

The re-trial in the case Haradinaj and his co-accused Idriz Balaj and Lahi Brahimaj at the ICTY began with opening statements by the prosecution and defense before on August 18.

Haradinaj, Balaj and Brahimaj are charged with crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war in Kosovo in 1998.