Hague Kosovo war crimes court sentences former president Hashim Thaçi to 25 years

More than two decades after the Kosovo war, one of its most prominent political and military figures has been found responsible of war crimes committed during the conflict, but not of crimes against humanity, in a landmark ruling by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague.

The court on Wednesday sentenced former Kosovo president and Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) commander Hashim Thaçi to 25 years in prison, finding him responsible for crimes including unlawful detention, torture, cruel treatment and murder. Three other former senior KLA leaders were also convicted and sentenced to prison terms. At the same time, the court acquitted the four defendants of charges of crimes against humanity.

Former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) spokesman Jakup Krasniqi was also sentenced to 25 years, while Kadri Veseli, the KLA’s former intelligence chief, received an 18-year sentence. Former KLA operational commander Rexhep Selimi was sentenced to 13 years.

The four were found individually responsible for war crimes including arbitrary deprivation of liberty, cruel treatment, torture and murder. The court found that the crimes were committed in 14 municipalities in Kosovo and in two areas of northern Albania between 1998 and 1999.

The verdict is a first-instance judgment and can be appealed.

Presiding Judge Charles Smith said the crimes were serious and widespread. The trial chamber found that the prosecution had established the unlawful detention of at least 385 people. It also found that 348 detainees were subjected to cruel treatment and more than 303 were tortured.

Many detainees were severely beaten, with some dying as a result of the violence. The court heard that victims had their nails pulled out and limbs broken, while others were subjected to mock executions. Some survivors continue to suffer physical consequences, including pain and difficulties walking, while witnesses also described long-term psychological effects such as depression and sleep disorders.

The court found that KLA members caused the deaths of at least 96 people who were not actively participating in hostilities between April 1998 and June 1999. The killings took place in 12 municipalities in Kosovo and one area in Albania.

Those targeted included members or representatives of other political and military forces, particularly people associated with the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) and the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kosovo (FARK). People linked to the authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia were also targeted, as were members of ethnic minorities, including Serbs and Roma.

Prosecutors seek six years for Thaçi over alleged witness interference in The Hague

Court finds common criminal purpose

The court found that the four defendants had acted together as senior members of the KLA General Staff in pursuit of a common criminal purpose.

According to the judgment, they helped establish detention facilities, assigned roles and positions to others and used official statements to communicate their policies and positions. The chamber also found that they created a climate of impunity for those committing crimes.

Judge Smith said Thaçi had played a key role and had made a substantial contribution to carrying out the common criminal purpose. According to the judgment, the defendants appointed loyal people to positions in order to maintain their control over the KLA throughout the relevant period. Many of those people committed crimes or knew that crimes were being committed.

The court said the KLA had detained people who had not participated in hostilities on allegations that they were Serbian collaborators, spies or traitors. Detainees were held in inhumane conditions, with insufficient food and water.

According to the judgment, Thaçi personally participated in crimes including the arrest, arbitrary detention and interrogation of 13 members of the self-proclaimed Kosovo Assembly, as well as in the arrest and killing of KLA member Behajdin Allaçi.

Krasniqi, who served as the KLA spokesman and deputy commander, was found to have played a key role in formulating and implementing policies targeting opponents. The court said his public statements encouraged crimes against people labelled as KLA opponents.

Veseli, as head of the KLA intelligence service, was found to have been involved in identifying, monitoring and neutralising people considered collaborators. Selimi, described in the judgment as a senior KLA operational figure and inspector, was found to have tolerated serious violations of international humanitarian law and contributed to the common criminal purpose.

No convictions for crimes against humanity

The four men were not convicted of crimes against humanity. The prosecution had to prove that the crimes formed part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population.

The court concluded that such an attack by the KLA had not been established and acquitted the defendants on five counts of crimes against humanity.

The chamber also found that the defendants could not be convicted for crimes committed after the end of the Kosovo war, determining that the conflict ended on 20 June 1999.

Judge Smith said the proceedings had taken place against a backdrop of witness intimidation. Some witnesses withdrew or changed their testimony because of concerns for their own safety or that of their families, while others testified “bravely and resolutely”.

The trial began on 3 April 2023. Prosecutors called 125 witnesses and submitted statements from dozens of others in written form, alongside around 3,000 documents in Albanian, Serbian and English.

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers were established in 2015 by Kosovo’s parliament under international pressure following a 2011 report by Council of Europe rapporteur Dick Marty concerning alleged crimes by the KLA in Kosovo and Albania.

The court is formally part of Kosovo’s judicial system but operates in The Hague. The four defendants had been detained in The Hague since their arrests in Kosovo in November 2020.

More than 150 victims who participated in the trial are entitled to seek compensation from those convicted.

Sources: EUalive’s partners BETA and BGNES

Caption: Supporters react as they show solidarity with former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) leaders ahead of their upcoming trial verdict, in Pristina, Kosovo, 16 September 2026. The Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague, Netherlands, sentenced Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi, and Jakup Krasniqi to long prison terms on ten counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the 1998–1999 Kosovo War. EPA/ARBEN LLAPASHTICA