Hague Court Convicts Kosovo's Former President Thaci of War Crimes, Sentences Him to 25 Years

Pristina: Kosovo's former President Hashim Thaci, 58, was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Wednesday after a tribunal in The Hague found him guilty of war crimes committed during his country's 1998-99 war for independence from Serbia.

A panel of judges at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers convicted Thaci on four counts, including murder, torture, cruel treatment and arbitrary detention. According to the court, he was found responsible for the killing of 96 political opponents and people perceived as collaborators with Serbian security forces by the Kosovo Liberation Army, which he led politically at the time.

Thaci had resigned from the presidency nearly six years earlier to face the charges and stood trial alongside three other former KLA commanders, all of whom denied wrongdoing throughout the nearly three-year proceedings.

Presiding Judge Charles Smith said Thaci had actively participated in and encouraged crimes, including by promoting individuals involved in them, and demonstrated a ruthless willingness to eliminate political rivals to secure his and other commanders' authority. Prosecutors had pushed for a maximum sentence of 45 years. Both sides retain the right to appeal.

The verdict drew a mixed reaction. Amnesty International said the conviction showed that senior officials are not beyond the reach of the law, while thousands gathered in Pristina to watch the reading live, with some voicing support for Thaci and the KLA, which is widely regarded domestically as a liberation movement.

Thaci still faces a separate trial on witness intimidation charges, expected to begin later this month