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Thousands of people have gathered in the Kosovo capital of Pristina to urge France to release their former prime minister who was detained there on a Serbian arrest warrant.

The protesters — mostly opposition party members and former guerrilla fighters of the 1998-1999 war for independence from Serbia — consider Ramush Haradinaj's detention as illegal.

Haradinaj, also a former guerrilla commander, was released by a French court, but he must stay in France under judicial supervision, pending a decision on whether to extradite him to Serbia.

Kosovo considers Haradinaj's detention a political move from Belgrade, given that he has been twice cleared of war crimes charges by a U.N. tribunal.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but Belgrade has not recognized the move.