A Kosovo war crimes tribunal on Wednesday found former President Hashim Thaci guilty of war crimes committed during the 1998-1999 war for independence from Serbia.

Thaci, a former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) commander, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for crimes including murder, torture and illegal detention.

He was tried along with three other former KLA guerrilla leaders in The Hague. 

What did the tribunal rule?

The tribunal said Thaci was guilty of the murder of  of 96 political opponents and perceived collaborators with Serbian security forces at the hands of the KLA during the conflict. He was also convicted for the illegal detention of 385 people and torturing more than 300 people

The court added Thaci had "actively participated in and encouraged crimes."

Prosecutors alleged KLA forces killed more than 100 political opponents and perceived collaborators with Serbian security forces during and just after the Kosovo war.

This included prisoners held at KLA facilities in Kosovo and Albania, along with politically motivated murders of Serb, Albanian and Roma civilians.

The defense argued that the senior KLA figures could not control or be held responsible for such acts, as the group lacked a strict command structure.

Lawyers had argued there was no direct evidence linking Thaci's command to any of the alleged crimes. 

Seen as heroes in Kosovo

The accused are revered as national heroes in Kosovo, and the KLA and Thaci are seen as symbols of the independence movement. Thaci remained a central political figure after the war and was instrumental in Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia.

The verdict in The Hague was livestreamed in the Kosovo capital, Pristina, where thousands of Thaci and KLA supporters gathered.

This follows rallies over the weekend that drew tens of thousands calling for the men's acquittal. 

Foreign embassies warned of the possibility of unrest after the verdict. 

"Our war was just, a war of liberation," Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said ahead of the verdict.

"We believe and hope … that the KLA leaders will return free to their country and to their families," he added.

After being indicted in 2020,Thaci resigned as president and has been detained in The Hague since then.

The Kosovo War left 13,000 people dead, of which some 9,000 ethnic Albanian Kosovars who were subjected to a campaign of ethnic cleansing at the hands of Serbian forces. The conflict ended after NATO intervened in 1999, pushing Serbian forces out.

Serbia still does not officially recognize its former province Kosovo as an independent state. 

Tribunal deeply unpopular in Kosovo

Throughout the proceedings, prosecutors tried to distinguish between Kosovo's struggle for independence from Serbia and the alleged crimes committed by the men on trial.

During the verdict, the presiding judge, Charles Smith, emphasized that the trial was "not about the legitimacy of the Kosovo Liberation Army" or its goal of Kosovo independence. 

The tribunal responsible for prosecuting the case, the Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC), was set up in 2016 after earlier cases in Kosovo failed due to alleged political interference and witness intimidation.

Although based in The Hague, and staffed by international judges, the KSC was established under Kosovo law specifically to prosecute alleged KLA war crimes.

Nevertheless, the KSC remains deeply unpopular in Kosovo. Out of 15 people indicted so far by the KSC, three are serving sentences.

"Throughout my life, I stood with the people of Kosovo defending freedom, life and dignity. I was always guided by the Western ideals of democracy, equality and justice," Thaci told judges in February as the proceedings concluded.

Edited by: Natalie Muller

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