Hashim Thaci Gets 25 Years for War Crimes in Kosovo, Convicted Over 1998-99 KLA Abuses
Updated
Updated · Al Jazeera English · Sep 16
Hashim Thaci Gets 25 Years for War Crimes in Kosovo, Convicted Over 1998-99 KLA Abuses
3 articles · Updated · Al Jazeera English · Sep 16
Summary
A Hague-based Kosovo tribunal sentenced former President Hashim Thaci, 58, to 25 years in prison for war crimes tied to the 1998-99 conflict.
Prosecutors said Thaci and other former KLA commanders were responsible for murder, torture and persecution of political opponents and civilians labeled collaborators or traitors; Thaci denied all charges.
The case has remained deeply divisive in Kosovo, where Thaci is still revered by many ethnic Albanians for his wartime role and tens of thousands rallied in Pristina days before the verdict seeking acquittals.
The ruling lands in a conflict that killed about 13,000 people, displaced roughly 1 million ethnic Albanian Kosovars and still shapes tense Kosovo-Serbia relations despite years of EU-mediated talks.