THE HAGUE: Former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci has been sentenced to 25 years in prison after a Hague tribunal found him guilty of war crimes committed during Kosovo’s 1998–99 war of independence from Serbia, reported by Al Jazeera News.
The Kosovo Specialist Chambers convicted the 58 year old on four counts, including murder, torture, cruel treatment and arbitrary detention. Prosecutors said Thaci, who was a senior commander of the ethnic Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), had actively participated in and encouraged crimes against political opponents and people believed to have cooperated with Serbian forces.
The court linked the KLA to the murder of 96 people, the unlawful detention of 385 others and the torture of 303. It also found that about 50 people were subjected to cruel treatment. The victims were not taking part in fighting when the crimes occurred, the tribunal said.
Thaci, who had denied all the charges, stood silently in court in a suit and tie as Judge Charles Smith read the sentence. He and the prosecutors have the right to appeal.
Three other former KLA commanders were also convicted. Jakup Krasniqi received a 25 year sentence, Kadri Veseli was sentenced to 18 years and Rexhep Selimi received 13 years. All four men have already spent several years in detention in The Hague.
The judges acquitted the defendants of six charges of crimes against humanity, saying prosecutors had failed to prove that the alleged crimes formed part of a widespread and systematic attack on civilians. The verdict ended a trial that lasted three years.
The ruling caused anger in Kosovo, where many ethnic Albanians regard Thaci and the KLA as national heroes who helped end Serbian rule. Thousands of people gathered in Pristina to watch the verdict on a large screen. Some shouted slogans in support of Thaci and the former guerrilla movement.
Kosovo Foreign Minister Glauk Konjufca described the judgment as “terrible and harmful to Kosovo”. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama posted an image of The Hague alongside the word “Marre”, meaning “shame” or “disgrace”.
Serbia welcomed the convictions. Deputy Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said they confirmed Serbia’s long standing claims that the KLA was a criminal organisation. He also said Kosovo could not build a future “on mass graves of murdered Serbs”.
The Kosovo war began after the KLA intensified its armed campaign against Serbian forces. A major Serbian military and police response followed, turning the conflict into a full scale war. About 13,000 people were killed and hundreds of thousands were displaced.
Thaci later became Kosovo’s prime minister, foreign minister and president. He resigned in November 2020 after being indicted and was transferred to The Hague with the other defendants.
The verdict comes as Kosovo faces political deadlock and struggles to strengthen its path towards closer ties with the European Union. For many Kosovars, however, the judgment reaches beyond politics. It touches the painful memory of a war that produced both national heroes and deep, unresolved grief.
