Former Kosovo President Thaçi Sentenced 25 Years for War Crimes

Former Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi was sentenced to 25 years in prison by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague.

The EU-backed court found Thaçi criminally responsible for war crimes committed during the 1998-1999 war with Serbia. Thaçi, 58, was convicted for crimes committed as a top commander of the ethnic Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). He was also convicted for the arbitrary illegal detention of 385 people, torture of 303 people, and cruel treatment of 49 people.

The court stated Thaçi actively participated in and encouraged crimes as part of a joint criminal enterprise. Presiding Judge Charles Smith said the plan entailed setting up detention facilities, identifying KLA opponents, arresting and detaining them, and, if necessary, killing them. Victims were held in inhumane conditions, beaten, kept in tiny cells, and denied sufficient food or medical care.

Thaçi, who stood in silence as the judge read the verdict, denied all charges. He can appeal the verdict. All four were cleared of six counts of crimes against humanity, as judges found prosecutors had not shown the crimes were part of a widespread and systematic attack on civilians. Prosecutors had requested 45-year sentences. The proceedings are deeply unpopular in Kosovo and Albania.

Thousands gathered in Pristina to watch the verdict on a large screen, booing and chanting "Thaci, Thaci" after the ruling. Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti labeled the verdict a great and harmful punishment and called for it to be corrected on appeal. Supporters also clashed with riot police in Pristina and The Hague. Thaçi resigned from office nearly six years ago to face the charges and has been in custody since November 2020.