The Special Court for Kosovo found Hashim Thaci and three other defendants guilty of arbitrary detention, ill-treatment, torture and murder during the 1998-1999 war. 58-year-old Thaci was sentenced to 25 years in prison, his accomplices - to terms ranging from 13 to 25 years. Thaci did not admit his guilt.
Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Recep Selimi are guilty of arbitrarily detaining 385 people, ill-treating 49, torturing 303 and killing 96, the special court ruled.
At the same time, the court decided that the prosecution had not provided sufficient evidence of widespread or systematic attacks against civilians and found the four men not guilty of crimes against humanity.
Thaci and his accomplices, the court found, made a significant contribution to the unlawful persecution of those whom they considered to be opponents of the political and military goals of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), including Kosovo Albanians, allied forces, people suspected of links to the Serbian authorities, and some members of ethnic minorities, including Roma and Serbs.
In almost all cases, the court found no evidence that the victims were involved in criminal activity or posed a threat to KLA. “The vast majority were innocent civilians who suffered as part of a criminal plot by [Thachi and others] in which they were labeled, often erroneously and usually without justification, as collaborators or spies,” the special court noted.
During the hearing, the presiding judge noted that the court was not considering the issue of the legitimacy of the KLA and its goal of achieving independence for Kosovo. The court only examines the methods used by some of its members to achieve their goal. The judge also said the trial would not address crimes that Serbian military and paramilitary forces committed against Kosovo Albanians.
Thaci, writes Reuters, stood silently while the judge read out the verdict. He can appeal the verdict.
The prosecution requested 45 years in prison for each of the defendants.
Hashim Thaci was one of the founders of the Kosovo Liberation Army in the 1990s. As a member of the general staff and head of the political department, Thaci played a key role in the crimes, the court decided. In addition, he was personally involved in the arrest and interrogation of 13 members of parliament, as well as the arrest and murder of an Albanian activist.
The role of Jakup Krasniqi, a member of the general staff, press secretary and deputy head of the KLA, was also key, the court decided, sentencing him, like Thaci, to 25 years.
Kadri Veseli headed intelligence - both during the war and later, in peacetime. His court sentenced him to 18 years, noting that the “so-called intelligence data” on the basis of which many people were detained or killed were, in fact, “unverified rumors.”
Recep Selimi was the KLA inspector general and, according to the court, had less influence than the other defendants. He received 13 years.
Supporters of Hashim Thaçi gathered in Pristina and The Hague on the day the verdict was announced; many Kosovars consider him a hero.
After Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, he served in the government of the partially recognized country as prime minister, first deputy prime minister and foreign minister.
From 2016 to 2020, Thaci served as President of the Republic of Kosovo. He resigned after the Special Prosecutor's Office for Kosovo indicted him and has since been detained in The Hague.
“I could make political mistakes in peacetime, but never war crimes,” Thaci said in 2020.
