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

Former Kosovo president Hashim Thaçi could face a six-year prison sentence for allegedly trying to interfere with the war crimes trial in which he and three other former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) leaders are accused of war crimes committed during the 1998-99 Kosovo war.

Hague prosecutor Joshua Hafetz said during closing arguments on Thursday, 10 September, that the charges against Thaçi had been proven and amounted to criminal offences, arguing that attempts to interfere with proceedings posed a threat to the administration of justice.

“The charges brought and proven by the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office constitute crimes,” Hafetz said, according to Radio Free Europe.

“Attempting to interfere with and obstruct the judicial process before this court threatens fair administration of justice,” he added.

Thaçi’s defence rejected the prosecution’s case and called for his acquittal on all charges, arguing that the evidence was insufficient to justify a conviction.

His lawyer, Sophie Menegon, said the prosecution was seeking a prison sentence in an attempt to “cover up and justify” what she described as highly intrusive measures used against Thaçi over a period of months.

She said these included the secret recording of his conversations, telephone calls and other communications that were not protected by confidentiality, including conversations with his wife and son.

“The evidence is weak, the charges are weak both legally and factually, and that justifies Thaçi’s acquittal on all counts,” Menegon said.

The closing arguments, which began on Thursday, are scheduled to continue on 11 and 14 September. The case concerns allegations that Thaçi and four other defendants sought to interfere with the work of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, including by disclosing confidential information and attempting to influence witnesses in the separate war crimes proceedings against Thaçi and three other former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) leaders.

The prosecution has requested nine months in prison for former Kosovo deputy prime minister Hajredin Kuçi and three years each for former Kosovo intelligence chief Bashkim Smakaj, former KLA member Isni Kilaj and Fadil Fazliu.

All five defendants have pleaded not guilty. Thaçi faces three counts of attempting to obstruct officials in the performance of their duties and eight counts relating to violations of the secrecy of proceedings and contempt of court.

A case running alongside the war crimes trial

The proceedings are particularly significant because the alleged obstruction concerns the very trial in which Thaçi and three other former KLA leaders are accused of some of the most serious crimes committed during and after the Kosovo war.

The four men, Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi, have been in detention in The Hague since November 2020. Their trial began in April 2023 and concluded its evidentiary phase in December 2025. The prosecution subsequently requested a 45-year prison sentence for each of the four defendants.

They are charged with crimes against humanity, including persecution, imprisonment, other inhumane acts, torture, murder and enforced disappearance, as well as war crimes including unlawful or arbitrary detention, cruel treatment, torture and murder.

The defendants deny all charges.

The main trial is now approaching its decisive moment. The Kosovo Specialist Chambers have scheduled the delivery of the first-instance judgment for 16 September 2026, after the judges extended the timetable because of the volume of evidence and the complexity of the case.

The prosecution’s request for 45 years for each defendant is not itself a sentence but the maximum penalty it is asking the Trial Panel to impose. The judges remain free to acquit the defendants or impose different sentences based on their assessment of the evidence and applicable law.

The timing gives the separate obstruction case added significance. Thaçi is therefore facing two closely connected judicial proceedings in The Hague: one concerning alleged crimes committed during the Kosovo conflict and another concerning alleged attempts to interfere with the judicial process dealing with those allegations.

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office were established by Kosovo’s parliament and constitutional amendments in 2015 following international pressure to investigate allegations of serious crimes attributed to members of the KLA.

Unlike the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, which was a UN tribunal, the Specialist Chambers are part of Kosovo’s legal system but are based in The Hague and staffed by international judges and prosecutors. Their mandate covers alleged crimes committed in Kosovo and parts of Albania between January 1998 and December 2000.

The institution has become one of the most politically sensitive elements of Kosovo’s post-war justice process, particularly because several of the defendants are former senior KLA figures who subsequently became leading politicians.

Thaçi himself served as Kosovo’s prime minister before becoming president in 2016. His political career was closely associated with Kosovo’s declaration of independence and its subsequent international recognition.

Political tension

The forthcoming judgment has already generated considerable political tension in Kosovo and Serbia. KLA veterans and supporters of the four defendants have announced demonstrations ahead of the 16 September ruling, while public displays of support for Thaçi and the other former KLA leaders have increased in Kosovo.

The court has also stressed that its judgments are to be based solely on the evidence and the law, amid concern about attempts to exert political pressure on the proceedings.

The wounds of the Yugoslav wars have not healed. Ratko Mladić’s funeral in Belgrade this week, attended by thousands who still hail him as a hero, and the parallel reverence many Kosovo Albanians continue to show Hashim Thaçi even as he stands trial in The Hague, show how sharply those memories still divide the region. For large parts of their own communities, the two men remain wartime defenders rather than the figures condemned or prosecuted by international courts.

Thousands gather in Belgrade for funeral of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić

Sources: Radio Free Europe, EUalive’s partner BGNES

Caption: Supporters of former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) leaders hold cutouts depicting Hashim Thaci and Kadri Veseli during a rally in Pristina, Kosovo, 17 February 2026. Veteran organizations called for support for former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) leaders, including former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci, who are on trial in The Hague on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed during the 1998–1999 Kosovo War. EPA/GEORGI LICOVSKI