The Kosovo war crimes tribunal in The Hague has found former Kosovo president Hashim Thaçi guilty of war crimes and sentenced him to 25 years in prison.
Thaçi, 58, was convicted of murder, torture, cruel treatment and arbitrary detention committed in 1998–1999, when he was one of the leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), which fought for the territory’s secession from Serbia. The court held him responsible for the murder of 96 people — political opponents and those the KLA regarded as collaborators with Serbian security forces — as well as the unlawful detention of at least 385 people, the torture of 303 people and the cruel treatment of 49.
Presiding Judge Charles Smith said Thaçi “actively participated in and encouraged the crimes,” including by promoting people involved in the violence. According to the court, this formed part of a joint criminal enterprise: setting up detention facilities, identifying perceived “opponents” of the KLA and, where necessary, killing them. Most of the victims, the court found, were not taking part in hostilities and posed no legitimate security threat.
Three other former KLA leaders were convicted alongside Thaçi: Jakup Krasniqi was also sentenced to 25 years, Kadri Veseli to 18 years and Rexhep Selimi to 13 years. All four denied guilt. Prosecutors had sought sentences of up to 45 years. They were acquitted on the counts of crimes against humanity: the judges held that it had not been proven that the attacks were widespread or systematic against the civilian population. The first-instance judgment can be appealed. Time already spent in custody since late 2020 will be credited toward the sentence.
Thaçi resigned as president in 2020 and surrendered voluntarily to the court after the charges were brought. For many Kosovo Albanians he remains a hero of the war for independence; on the day of the verdict his supporters took to the streets in Pristina and gathered outside the courthouse in The Hague. The court separately stressed that it was not calling into question the KLA’s goal of Kosovo’s independence but was examining the methods used against alleged opponents.