Key facts
- Former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci was sentenced to 25 years in prison by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague.
- The court convicted Thaci and three other former senior commanders of 96 murders, torture, cruel treatment, and arbitrary detention.
- The crimes were committed during the 1998-1999 war for independence from Serbia.
- Jakup Krasniqi received a 25-year sentence, Kadri Veseli 18 years, and Rexhep Selimi 13 years.
- Thaci also faces a separate trial on charges of intimidating witnesses.
Hashim Thaçi, the former president of Kosovo, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison by a tribunal in The Hague for war crimes, including dozens of murders, committed during his time as a senior commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during the country’s war for independence from Serbia in the late 1990s. The European-backed Kosovo Specialist Chambers convicted Thaçi, 58, and three other former senior commanders of 96 murders, and counts of torture, cruel treatment, and arbitrary detention directed at political opponents and civilians. The convictions conclude a years-long process, opposed by many in Kosovo, to bring accountability for crimes committed by KLA commanders during the war, which lasted from 1998 to 1999. Thaçi, who resigned from office nearly six years ago to face charges, stood in silence as presiding judge Charles Smith read out the sentence. Thaçi, who served as the head of the political directorate of the KLA’s general staff, faced multiple counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity alongside the three other former leaders of the KLA, who are widely regarded as national heroes in their homeland. In addition to the murders, Thaçi was also convicted for the illegal detention of 385 people, torture of 303 people, and cruel treatment of about 50. The court ruled that Thaçi had “actively participated in and encouraged crimes,” with Smith stating, “The scale and nature of the crimes committed were very serious.” Smith added that the intelligence used to arrest, detain, and kill victims was often based on unverified rumors, leading to victims being labeled as spies and collaborators and violently treated. Prosecutors had asked for a maximum 45-year sentence. Jakup Krasniqi received 25 years, Rexhep Selimi 13 years, and Kadri Veseli 18 years. The three-judge panel dismissed six charges of crimes against humanity, stating prosecutors failed to show these occurred as part of widespread or systematic attacks against the civilian population. Thaçi, known by the nom de guerre Commander Snake during the war, was a philosophy student who rose through the KLA’s ranks. He later became a central political figure and was instrumental in Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence. His defense argued that the KLA was not a strictly centralized organization and that Thaçi’s senior position did not indicate culpability for crimes committed by local units. Kosovo foreign minister Glauk Konjufca called the judgment "a sad, unjust, undeserved decision," while Thaçi’s PDK party labeled the verdict "a great injustice" based on "fabricated" claims. Thousands in Pristina watched the verdict live, reacting with shock and dismay.