But UN legal officials say his trial was dogged by procedural irregularities and that trial testimony was contradicted by forensic evidence and initial witness statements.
According to one UN legal officer with knowledge of the case, the panel of two international judges and one Albanian judge had considered abandoning the trial for lack of evidence, "but they didn't dare to do it. Politically speaking it was not possible.
"The people of Racak would have been furious. Racak is a symbol of what happened during the war for all Albanians. They gave in to pressure, pressure that was exerted through out the case."
Four key trial witnesses altered their testimony between giving statements to members of the international criminal tribunal for Yugoslavia and appearing in court. Two witness claims that victims had been shot though the front of the head were contradicted by forensic evidence. senior UN legal official said the Stanojevic trial reflected weaknesses throughout the Kosovo judicial process. "The quality of evidence is very very poor and relies on testimony for which there is very little supporting evidence. No one hesitates to make things up.