Former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Wednesday, Sept. 16, after judges in The Hague convicted the former Kosovo Liberation Army leader of war crimes committed during the 1998-99 Kosovo conflict.

The verdict against one of the most prominent figures in Kosovo’s independence movement comes after a trial lasting more than three years and involving hundreds of witnesses and thousands of exhibits. Three other former senior KLA figures were also convicted.

Hashim Thaci sentenced to 25 years

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers found Thaci , Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi responsible for crimes committed against people regarded as opponents of the Kosovo Liberation Army’s political and military objectives.

According to an official statement from the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, the judges found all four men “criminally responsible for the war crimes” of arbitrary detention, cruel treatment, torture and murder.

Thaci was sentenced to 25 years in prison, while Krasniqi also received 25 years. Veseli was sentenced to 18 years and Selimi to 13 years. Thaci had already spent about two years and five months in detention before the trial began, having been arrested and transferred to The Hague on Nov. 5, 2020. All four defendants will receive credit for time already spent in detention.

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The case centered on crimes committed between April 1998 and June 1999 as the KLA fought Serbian and Yugoslav forces for control of Kosovo. Prosecutors said the defendants used their positions within the KLA to target people they considered political or military opponents.

Specialist Prosecutor Kimberly West welcomed the convictions, saying in an official statement from the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office that “no individual, irrespective of rank or political stature, is above the law.”

The scale of the proceedings was considerable. The court received evidence from 273 witnesses and admitted 5,467 exhibits, while transcripts from the trial totaled more than 29,000 pages.

A large screen displaying images of former Kosovo Liberation Army ( KLA / UCK ) leaders Jakup Krasniqi (L), Hashim Thaçi (2nd L), Kadri Veseli (2nd R) and Rexhep Selimi (R), alongside a countdown clock showing the time remaining until the verdict in their case before the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, stands in Skanderbeg Square on Sept.15, 2026 in Pristina, Kosovo. (Image: Pierre Crom/Getty Images)

Court finds opponents were targeted

The Trial Panel found the four defendants responsible for the arbitrary detention of 385 people, torture of 303, cruel treatment of 49 and the murder of 96 people.

Those targeted included Kosovo Albanians associated with competing political or military organizations, people suspected of connections to Serbian or Yugoslav authorities and members of minority communities, including Serbs and Roma. The court said that, with limited exceptions, it found no evidence that the victims had committed crimes, participated in hostilities or presented a legitimate security threat to the KLA.

Judges concluded that Thaci, then a senior KLA political figure, played a key role in developing and implementing a common plan that included identifying perceived opponents, detaining them and, in some cases, killing them.

However, the verdict did not uphold all of the prosecution’s allegations. The panel found the defendants “not guilty of crimes against humanity” because prosecutors had not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the crimes formed part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population. The defendants were also acquitted in connection with several individual alleged war-crime incidents.

That distinction is important because the court said the proceedings were aimed at determining individual criminal responsibility, rather than judging the KLA’s broader struggle for Kosovo independence.

West similarly stressed that distinction, saying, “The SPO has not prosecuted the Kosovo Liberation Army,” or Kosovo’s war for independence.

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers itself is part of Kosovo’s legal system but is based in The Hague, with international judges and staff. It was established through a constitutional amendment and Kosovo legislation to handle allegations of war crimes, crimes against humanity and other offenses connected to the Kosovo conflict.

Kosovo leaders condemn verdict as appeal looms

The verdict immediately drew strong opposition from Kosovo’s political leadership, reflecting the continuing importance of the KLA to the country’s national identity.

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti called the convictions an “unacceptable injustice, a grave and harmful punishment” in an official address released by his office following the verdict.

Kurti pointed to the acquittals on the crimes-against-humanity counts and argued that the ruling should not be interpreted as a judgment against the KLA itself or Kosovo’s independence struggle. He said the government would continue supporting the defendants through the appeals process.

“This judgment must be changed and corrected on appeal,” Kurti said.

Acting Kosovo President Albulena Haxhiu also criticized the sentences. In an official statement from the Kosovo presidency, Haxhiu described the ruling as deeply shocking for Kosovo and emphasized the defendants’ right to appeal.

“Stay strong, Kosovo is with you,” Haxhiu said in Albanian in a message directed toward the defendants’ families.

“The final legal word has not been said,” she added, saying the right to appeal should be fully exercised.

Original article