Former Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi was sentenced to 25 years’ imprisonment on Wednesday (16 Sep) after the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague found him guilty of war crimes committed during and after the 1998–99 Kosovo War.
The court convicted Thaçi, a former political leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), of murder, arbitrary detention, torture and cruel treatment. Judges found him responsible for crimes including the killing of 96 people, while acquitting him of several crimes against humanity charges after determining prosecutors had not proven they formed part of a widespread or systematic attack. Prosecutors had sought a 45-year sentence, and Thaçi is expected to appeal.
The conflict between Serbian forces and the KLA claimed more than 10,000 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands before a NATO intervention ended the fighting in 1999. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, with Thaçi serving as its first prime minister before later becoming president. He resigned in 2020 after his indictment.
The verdict prompted emotional reactions in Pristina, where many Kosovo Albanians continue to regard Thaçi as a key figure in the country’s independence movement, while victims’ groups and international observers described the judgment as an important step in addressing alleged wartime abuses. The case highlights the enduring divisions over the legacy of the Kosovo conflict and the continuing pursuit of accountability more than two decades after the war.
ℹ️ Reuters
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