The Hague/Pristina, 16 September (Reuters) – Former Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi was found guilty of war crimes, including murder, torture and illegal detention, by the Kosovo War Crimes Court in The Hague on Wednesday.
Thaçi, 58, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for crimes committed while he was the chief commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), of Albanian ethnicity, during the violent secession of the territory from Serbia in the 1990s.
The court found him guilty of the murder of 96 political opponents and alleged collaborators of the Serbian security forces, carried out by Kosovo Liberation Army forces during the conflict.
He was also convicted of illegal and arbitrary detention of 385 people, torture of 303 people and cruel treatment of 49 people. None of the victims were actively taking part in hostilities at the time the crimes were committed, the court added.
The court said Thaçi actively participated in the crimes and instigated them as part of a joint criminal organization with a common plan.
“The plan was as simple as it was harmful. In particular, it involved: establishing detention centers in all areas controlled by the KLA; identifying individuals seen as opponents of the KLA; arresting and detaining them and, if necessary, killing them,” said Chief Judge Charles Smith.
The victims were kept in inhumane conditions, beaten, confined to tiny cells and deprived of adequate food or medical care, he added.
Thaçi, who remained silent as the judge read the conviction and sentence, had denied all the charges.
He may appeal the sentence.
The ruling was closely watched in Kosovo and Serbia, where the legacy of the 1998-99 conflict and Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence remain a source of tension between Kosovo Albanians and Serbs.
Thaçi remains a revered figure for many Kosovo Albanians, while the court itself is deeply unpopular in Kosovo.
In Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, people watching the verdict on a screen booed the decision and shouted “Thaçi, Thaçi,” as some burst into tears.
“This verdict is a disgrace. From today, there will be no peace in Kosovo,” said Raif Pllana, a former KLA fighter who took to the streets in support of Thaçi in central Pristina.
The Kosovo Specialist Chambers, based in The Hague, were created in 2015 under international pressure to try former KLA combatants for alleged crimes committed during and after the war.
