THE HAGUE, Sept 27 (Reuters) - The Appeals Chamber of the U.N. war crimes tribunal cleared two Kosovo Albanians of war crimes for the second time on Thursday, upholding their 2005 acquittal on charges of torture, murder and cruel treatment. Appeals judges agreed with an earlier ruling that Fatmir Limaj, a senior Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) member, was not guilty of murder, torture and inhumane acts during the 1998-99 conflict in the southern Serbian province. They also upheld the acquittal of Isak Musliu, another member of the now disbanded KLA, on the same crimes. In the original trial, they were cleared of all charges of abducting and murdering Serb civilians as well as ethnic Albanians suspected of collaborating with Serb authorities while Kosovo was in the grip of a separatist insurgency. Prosecutors appealed the verdict citing errors in the procedure. The court upheld the conviction and sentence of a third man, Haradin Bala, a former prison camp guard, found guilty of murder, torture and cruelty and sentenced to 13 years.
