Kosovo’s Ex-President Thaci Sentenced To 25 Years For War Crimes | Sahara Reporters

Thaci was tried alongside three other former senior KLA figures — Jakup Krasniqi, Rexhep Selimi and Kadri Veseli — who were also convicted.

Kosovo’s former President, Hashim Thaci, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison by a tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, for war crimes committed during and after the Kosovo conflict.

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers on Wednesday found Thaci guilty of several crimes, including illegal arrests, torture, murder and cruel treatment carried out by members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).

Thaci was tried alongside three other former senior KLA figures — Jakup Krasniqi, Rexhep Selimi and Kadri Veseli — who were also convicted.

Krasniqi was sentenced to 25 years in prison, while Selimi received 13 years and Veseli 18 years.

According to the court, the four men were criminally responsible for the arbitrary detention and torture of hundreds of people and the murders of 96 people.

However, the tribunal acquitted them of charges of crimes against humanity.

The court said Thaci, Veseli, Selimi and Krasniqi had contributed significantly to a common criminal purpose during the Kosovo conflict, targeting people perceived as opponents of the KLA’s political and military objectives.

Thaci, 58, resigned as president and surrendered to the tribunal after he was indicted in 2020. He has remained in detention in The Hague since then, with time already spent in custody counting towards his sentence.

The verdict prompted a strong reaction in Kosovo, where Thaci and the KLA are widely regarded by supporters as symbols of the country’s struggle for independence.

Large crowds gathered in Kosovo’s capital, Pristina, to watch the proceedings on large screens. Many supporters had expected Thaci and the other defendants to be acquitted.

Kosovo Foreign Minister, Glauk Konjufca, described the judgment as “sad, unjust” and “undeserved” while speaking to reporters outside the court.

Hundreds of people had also gathered in the capital ahead of the verdict after supporters organised rallies calling for the release of the former KLA commanders.

The crowd dispersed shortly after the sentences were announced.

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers was established under Kosovo law to prosecute alleged crimes committed by KLA members during the 1998-1999 Kosovo war. Although based in the Netherlands, the court operates with international judges and prosecutors.

Earlier war crimes cases in Kosovo faced difficulties linked to alleged witness intimidation and political interference.

The tribunal has also faced criticism in Kosovo over its use of evidence provided by Serbia, which does not recognise Kosovo’s independence.

Prosecutors maintained during the trial that the case concerned individual responsibility for alleged crimes rather than Kosovo’s broader independence struggle.

They accused the four men of responsibility for crimes against prisoners held at KLA detention facilities in Kosovo and neighbouring Albania, as well as politically motivated killings of Serb, Albanian and Roma civilians.

Defence lawyers had argued that the KLA did not have a strict command structure and that its senior political and military figures could not control or be held responsible for crimes committed by individual fighters.