In a special court in The Hague, the trial of former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci, who is accused of war crimes, begins.
While Vladimir Putin is still on the run from the International Criminal Court in one of his bunkers, former Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi is on trial for war crimes in The Hague. From 1997-1999, he led the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), which fought for independence from Serbia. The allegations date back to that period.
Along with Thaci, there are three other high-ranking members of the KLA who also held important political posts in peacetime – Kadri Veseli, Yakup Krasnichi and Recep Selimi.
The indictment alleges that Thaci, Veseldi, Salimi and Krasniqi bear individual responsibility for criminal acts committed during the armed conflict in Kosovo.
They are accused of jointly engaging in criminal activities in order to gain control over the whole of Kosovo, intimidating and eliminating their opponents from March 1998 to September 1999 in the province itself and in northern Albania.
Six counts of the indictment relate to crimes against humanity – persecution, imprisonment, torture, murder and enforced disappearances, and four more counts – to war crimes: unlawful arrest, ill-treatment, torture and murder.
According to the prosecution, hundreds of civilians and people who did not take an active part in the hostilities became victims of these actions.
Prosecutors said Thaci and his co-conspirators pursued a “clear and overt policy of targeting collaborators and alleged traitors, including political opponents.”
Victims were often targeted simply because of links to Serbia, but most of the victims were ethnic Albanians, prosecutors said.
EPA
Court in The Hague
In 1999, Thaci became President of Kosovo’s parallel government, the so-called Interim Government, and Supreme Commander of the KLA. In early 2008, Thaci was elected prime minister of Kosovo, and a month later, the province unilaterally declared independence.
In 2016, Thaci became president, but stepped down in November 2020 when he was charged with war crimes by a court and has been in custody in The Hague ever since.
Many Kosovars regard Thaci as a war hero. Most Kosovar Albanians describe the war against “Serbian oppression” as just self-defence.
On Sunday, a large rally was held in Pristina in support of Thaçi and the other defendants, supported by all political parties in Kosovo, as well as celebrities and some non-governmental organizations.
The demonstrators carried banners “Freedom has a name” and “History cannot be changed.”
Protests were also held outside the courthouse in The Hague.
In Serbia, the KLA is considered a terrorist organization.
