Former Kosovo president found guilty of war crimes

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague has found former Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi guilty of war crimes and sentenced him to a unified term of 25 years in prison.

According to the trial panel, the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office proved beyond reasonable doubt Thaçi’s criminal responsibility for several of the charges against him, CE Report quotes Kosova Press.

Presiding Judge Charles Smith said Thaçi was found guilty of unlawful or arbitrary arrest and detention as a war crime committed against at least 385 people, cruel treatment as a war crime against at least 49 people, torture as a war crime against at least 303 people, and unlawful killing as a war crime against at least 96 people.

The trial panel acquitted Thaçi in relation to a number of alleged war crime incidents, either because they had not been proven beyond reasonable doubt or because they were found to fall outside the court’s jurisdiction.

Thaçi was also acquitted of the crimes against humanity charges, including persecution, imprisonment, other inhumane acts, torture, unlawful killing and enforced disappearance.

“Mr. Thaçi, since you have been found guilty of more than one crime, the trial panel has determined a separate sentence for each criminal offence for which a guilty verdict has been entered,” Smith said.

The court imposed a 15-year prison sentence for unlawful or arbitrary arrest and detention, four years for cruel treatment, 20 years for torture and 23 years for unlawful killing.

The panel subsequently imposed a unified sentence of 25 years in prison, with the time Thaçi has already spent in detention to be credited toward his sentence.

Thaçi, who was one of the political leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during the war, resigned as Kosovo’s president in November 2020 after the indictment against him was confirmed by the Specialist Chambers. He had pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The trial began in April 2023. The indictment included six counts of crimes against humanity and four counts of war crimes over alleged offences committed during the conflict.

Prosecutors had sought prison sentences of up to 45 years for each of the four defendants, while the defence teams called for acquittal. The first-instance judgment can be appealed.

Thaçi was one of the leading figures of the KLA during the Kosovo war and later became a prominent figure in Kosovo politics. He served as a political representative of the KLA and was part of Kosovo’s delegation at the Rambouillet Conference in 1999.

After the war, Thaçi became one of the founders and leaders of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), which he headed for several years.

He became prime minister in 2008, the year Kosovo declared independence on February 17, and remained in the post until 2014. He later served as deputy prime minister and foreign minister.

Thaçi was elected president of Kosovo in 2016 and remained in office until November 5, 2020, when he resigned following confirmation of the indictment against him.

He was subsequently transferred to The Hague and has remained in detention there since November 2020 while the proceedings were underway.

Photo: Chat GPT