The rebellion ended when NATO launched 78 days of air strikes against Yugoslavia and pushed Milosevic's forces out of Kosovo. Milosevic was ousted in October, and the courts of the new pro-democracy government ruled Monday that the sentences of the 143 men should be reviewed. New trials are considered highly unlikely. The Albanians were handed over to the International Red Cross, which is responsible for arranging their transportation to Kosovo. Demands for the release of these prisoners have long been a rallying point for the province's Albanians, who have argued that there will never be peace in Kosovo until all them are free.
Dozens remain in jail.
Click here to learn more about the breakup of Yugoslavia. Francoise Zambellini of the International Red Cross said 281 Kosovo Albanians are known to remain in Serbian prisons. More than 1,000 ethnic Albanians were imprisoned in central Serbia when Serb troops pulled out of Kosovo in June 1999. Western governments had called on Belgrade to release the prisoners, condemning their convictions last year as groundless. Hundreds of ethnic Albanians have been released since Milosevic was ousted.