A Hague court convicts Kosovo’s former President Thaci of war crimes and sentences him to 25 years

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A European Union-backed court on Wednesday convicted former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci of four counts of war crimes committed during his country’s war for independence from Serbia and sentenced him to 25 years in prison.

Thaci, who is 58, resigned from office nearly six years ago to face the charges. He was convicted by a panel of judges at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers of murder, torture, cruel treatment and arbitrary detention. He can appeal.

The judgment was a crushing blow for a man once embraced by Western leaders, who had invited him to the 1999 peace talks in France, and who was seen as a leader who could guide the country toward independence.

Wearing a suit and tie, Thaci stood in silence as Presiding Judge Charles Smith read out the sentence.

There was no immediate reaction from Thaci’s supporters who packed the court’s public gallery. Hundreds more supporters were waiting outside the courthouse in The Hague.

In Kosovo’s capital, Pristina, thousands of people watched the reading of the verdict live on a huge screen and were stunned at the sentence. Some started shouting “UCK,” the Albanian-language acronym for the Kosovo Liberation Army that Thaci once led before entering politics.

One supporter, Bekim Fetahu, said the verdict was “a catastrophic decision.”

“They (judges) have put the victims together with the aggressors,” Fetahu added.

Smith, the presiding judge, said Thaci “used his position, leadership, authority and standing” to encourage crimes.

However, the American judge also stressed that the trial was “not about the legitimacy of the Kosovo Liberation Army” or its ultimate goal of securing independence for Kosovo, which at the time was a province in Serbia.

Thaci faced multiple counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, torture and persecution alongside three other former KLA leaders who fought Serb forces in the 1998-99 war. They are widely regarded as national heroes in Kosovo.

The four were all acquitted on six charges of crimes against humanity because the judges said the prosecutors failed to prove that crimes were committed as part of a widespread and systematic attack on civilians.

The prosecutors had asked for a maximum 45-year prison sentence for Thaci and the other defendants, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi. All denied the charges against them. Veseli was sentenced to 18 years, Selimi to 13 years and Krasniqi to 25 years in prison.

Thousands of people rallied in Pristina, Kosovo’s capital, over the weekend in support of the four men. The protesters filled a central square in the capital, many carrying red and black Albanian flags.

Portraits of the four former KLA fighters have been plastered across the city along with a huge digital clock counting down to Wednesday’s verdicts.

As his trial ended in February, Thaci told judges: “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.”

According to prosecutors, the men targeted political opponents and civilians perceived as collaborators and traitors during their time in the KLA.

The staff at the European Union-backed court are largely international due to fears about witness safety and security. In 2022, the court convicted two leaders of a Kosovo war veterans’ association for intimidating witnesses by publicizing leaked confidential documents.

Thaci also faces a separate trial on charges of intimidating witnesses that will begin later this month.

He was a student who returned from what he described as political exile in Switzerland to join Kosovo’s struggle for independence. He earned the nickname “the Snake” for his ability to evade Serb forces during the conflict.

Thaci rose to political power after the war but resigned as president to defend himself before the court in The Hague.

Most of the 13,000 people who died in the war in Kosovo were ethnic Albanians. A 78-day campaign of NATO airstrikes against Serbian forces ended the fighting. About 1 million ethnic Albanian Kosovars were driven from their homes.

In 2008, Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia, a move that Belgrade refuses to recognize. Ties between Kosovo and Serbia remain tense, despite years of negotiations mediated by the European Union and supported by the United States.

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Associated Press reporter Molly Quell in The Hague, Netherlands, contributed to this report.