Kosovo's former president Hashim Thaci convicted of war crimes

Kosovo's former president Hashim Thaci has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for war crimes. The Kosovo special tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, found it proven that Thaci was responsible for, among other things, 96 political murders.

Thaci was also convicted of the arbitrary detention of 385 people, the torture of 303 people and the cruel treatment of around 50 other victims. The acts were committed during the conflict over Kosovo's secession from Serbia in the 1990s.

The court said the 58-year-old actively participated in and supported the crimes. Thaci, who had denied all allegations, watched the verdict in silence.

According to the indictment, Thaci and three co-defendants were members of the leadership of the Kosovo Albanian Liberation Army (KLA), which is said to have committed crimes against humanity in the late 1990s.

The prosecution had demanded 45 years in prison for the former president - the defense had demanded acquittal. Almost 300 witnesses testified in the trial and 155 victims were involved in the proceedings.

Thaci was Prime Minister between 2008 and 2014, then Foreign Minister and President of Kosovo from 2016. He resigned from his position in 2020 to face the court in The Hague. All four defendants held leading positions in the KLA and high political offices after the war.

Thaci can appeal the verdict. The five years and ten months of imprisonment he has already served will be credited to him.

The co-defendants also received heavy sentences: Jakup Krasniqi has to spend 25 years in prison, Kadri Veseli 18 years and Rexhep Selimi 13 years.

The KLA fought from 1998 to 1999 to gain independence from Serbia for the predominantly Albanian-inhabited Kosovo. The KLA managed to get NATO to intervene. Serbia was bombed as part of “Operation Allied Force”. In 2008, Kosovo declared itself formally independent.

The special tribunal was set up in 2015 following international pressure. The basis for its creation was also the report by special rapporteur Dick Marty, which the Council of Europe adopted at the beginning of 2011. In it, the Swiss ex-prosecutor emphasized that there were crimes committed by the Serbian military and police in Kosovo. Marty named several senior ex-KLA officials in his report in connection with alleged crimes.

The verdict was met with violent protests in Kosovo. In the capital Pristina, where thousands watched the decision on large screens, there were boos and chants for Thaci. Supporters also gathered in front of the courthouse in The Hague with KLA flags.

Thaci is seen as a hero by many Kosovar Albanians, while the special court is met with widespread rejection in the country. Many Kosovo Albanians see themselves as the victims of the war, as fighters for freedom and independence - and the Serbs as the sole perpetrators, the occupiers.

According to international research, Serbian forces killed up to 9,000 civilians, mostly Kosovo Albanians, in the Kosovo war. The Kosovo Albanian guerrilla army KLA killed up to 1,500 civilians - mostly Serbs. According to the Humanitarian Law Center, at least 13,535 people died or disappeared in connection with the war between 1998 and 2000.