Editing Rahim Ademi

{{Short description|Croatian general (born 1954)}}
{{BLP one source|date=November 2014}}
{{Infobox military person
| name          = Rahim Ademi
| image         = Rahim Ademi 16 obljetnica vojnoredarstvene operacije Oluja 04082011 873.jpg
| image_size    = 220
| caption       = Rahim Ademi in 2011
| birth_date    = {{Birth date and age|1954|01|30|df=y}}
| birth_place   = [[Karače]], [[Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija|Kosovo]], [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|FPR Yugoslavia]]                                                       
| death_date    = 
| death_place   = 
| placeofburial = 
| nickname      = 
| allegiance    = {{flag|Yugoslavia}}<br/>
{{flag|Croatia}}
| branch        = [[Yugoslav People's Army]]
[[Croatian Army]]
| serviceyears  = 
| rank          = [[Brigadier general]]
| servicenumber = 
| unit          = 
| commands      = 
| battles       = [[Croatian War of Independence]]
*[[Battle of Šibenik]]
*[[Operation Medak Pocket]]
*[[Operation Storm]]
| battles_label = 
| awards        = [[Order of Duke Domagoj]]
| relations     = 
| laterwork     = 
}}
'''Rahim Ademi''' (born 30 January 1954) is a retired [[Croatian Army]] [[general]] of [[Kosovo Albanians|Kosovar Albanian]] origin.

== Biography ==
Born and raised in the village of Karač, [[Vushtrri]], [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]] (modern day [[Republic of Kosovo|Kosovo]]), Ademi graduated from the [[Yugoslav Military Academy]] in Belgrade in 1976. He was assigned to a station in [[Rogoznica]] near [[Šibenik]] in [[Croatia]] where he married and had two children.<ref name="SD20010712">{{cite news
|last=Blažević
|first=Davorka
|date=12 July 2001
|title=Bivša vlast mi nije dopustila da se 1998. odazovem i obranim pred haaškim sudom
|trans-title=The former government did not allow me to respond in 1998 and defend myself at the Hague Tribunal
|language=Croatian
|url=http://arhiv.slobodnadalmacija.hr/20010712/temedana1.htm
|newspaper=[[Slobodna Dalmacija]]
|location=Split
|access-date=5 August 2015
}}</ref>

In 1986, the Military Court in [[Sarajevo]] convicted him of ''counterrevolutionary acts'' and ''Albanian [[irredentism]]'', but after serving a year and a half in prison, the Supreme Military Court agreed with his appeal and acquitted him. He would spend the next years serving as an officer in [[Sinj]] until 1990 when the war in Croatia was starting and he deserted the [[Yugoslav People's Army]] in order to help create Croatian army formations.<ref name="SD20010712"/>

He officially joined the [[Ministry of the Interior]] in 1991 and later became part of the [[Military of Croatia|Croatian Army forces]] during the [[Croatian War of Independence]]. Between 1992 and 1993, as a [[Brigadier]], he commanded Croatian military units in the Sinj area, with particular responsibility for the [[Peruća|Peruća Dam]].<ref>Personal recollection as UN Military Observer Jul 1992 - Feb 1993. (Commando1664)</ref> In 1993 he was assigned to the post of sub commander of the [[Gospić]] military district, but was relieved of duty later that year, after the controversial [[Operation Medak pocket]]. He later served as a sub-commander of the [[Split (city)|Split]] military district and was promoted to [[brigadier general]] for his achievements in [[Operation Storm]] in 1995. He remained there until 1999 when he was reassigned to the post of the Assistant Chief Inspector of the Armed Forces in [[Zagreb]].

In 2001, the [[International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia]] (ICTY) indicted Ademi for [[crimes against humanity]] allegedly committed against the [[Croatian Serbs]] in the Medak pocket. He was originally in the custody of the Court but was later allowed to prepare his defense free. In November 2005, in line with its completion strategy, the ICTY referred the Ademi-Norac case to the Croatian judiciary. The trial began on 18 June 2007 in front of a special bench of the Zagreb County Court with Judge Marin Mrčela presiding.<ref name="ICTY-Tribunal Update"/>

Ademi claims that the Croatian government, under international pressure, relieved him of duty in [[Gospić]] in 1993 in order to make him a scapegoat, rather than implicating commanding officers [[Janko Bobetko]],<ref name="ICTY-Tribunal Update"/> [[Mirko Norac]] and [[Mladen Markač]]. He alleged that the Tribunal wanted him for questioning as far back as 1998 but the government did not allow him to answer their questions. On 30 May 2008, he was acquitted by the Zagreb County Court of responsibility for atrocities committed against [[Serb]] prisoners by Croat troops during Operation Medak Pocket.<ref name="ICTY-Tribunal Update">[http://www.iwpr.net/?p=tri&s=f&o=344881&apc_state=henh Ademi Acquitted of Medak Pocket Crimes], iwpr.net; accessed 26 November 2014.</ref>

In March 2010, the [[Supreme Court of Croatia]] upheld Ademi's acquittal.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/croatia-urged-speed-war-crimes-prosecutions-2010-12-09|title=Croatia urged to speed up war crimes prosecutions|publisher=[[Amnesty International]]|date=9 December 2010|accessdate=9 December 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110317043602/http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/croatia-urged-speed-war-crimes-prosecutions-2010-12-09|url-status=dead|archive-date=2011-03-17}}</ref>

During campaign for the [[2014–15 Croatian presidential election|2014–15 presidential election]], Ademi worked as a co-coordinator for [[Ivo Josipović]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.slobodnadalmacija.hr/novosti/hrvatska/clanak/id/252608/rahim-ademi-opet-sam-uz-josipovica-jer-je-cist-kao-suza|title = Slobodna Dalmacija - Rahim Ademi: Opet sam uz Josipovića jer je čist kao suza|date = 7 November 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.politikaplus.com/novost/115632/rahim-ademi-glasat-cu-za-josipovica-jer-je-on-domoljub-koji-cijeni-branitelje-|title=Rahim Ademi: Glasat ću za Josipovića jer je on domoljub koji cijeni branitelje}}</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070912211634/http://www.un.org/icty/indictment/english/ade-ii010608e.htm |date=September 12, 2007 |title=ICTY Indictment }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ademi, Rahim}}
[[Category:1954 births]]
[[Category:Croatian army officers]]
[[Category:Kosovan emigrants to Croatia]]
[[Category:Kosovan soldiers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Officers of the Yugoslav People's Army]]
[[Category:Order of Duke Domagoj recipients]]
[[Category:People acquitted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia]]
[[Category:People from Vushtrri]]
[[Category:Military personnel of the Croatian War of Independence]]
[[Category:Yugoslav defectors]]
[[Category:Croatian people of Albanian descent]]
[[Category:Croatian people of Kosovan descent]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Mitrovica, Kosovo]]
[[Category:People indicted for war crimes]]
[[Category:People acquitted of international crimes]]