The verdicts against former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and three former Kosovo Liberation Army leaders have prompted shock and anger across Kosovo. DW reported that thousands gathered in Pristina’s main square, where many waved KLA flags and watched the proceedings on large screens. Similar gatherings were held in other major cities.
When the court found Thaci, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi guilty of war crimes, the crowd fell silent before breaking into calls for justice and chants supporting the four men. Some citizens then tried to demolish sections of the perimeter wall around EULEX, the European Union’s rule-of-law mission in Kosovo. Police and special units intervened to prevent further damage and incidents.
Kosovo’s political leaders also denounced the decision. Foreign Minister Glauk Konjufca, who attended the verdict in The Hague, called the convictions “a terrible judgment for Kosovo” and “a major blow to the state and to the domestic narrative.” Prime Minister Albin Kurti described the verdict and the sentences as “an unacceptable injustice.”
The Democratic Party of Kosovo, founded after the war by Thaci and other former KLA leaders, called the ruling unjust and unacceptable, saying its campaign for justice would continue. Acting President Albulena Haxhiu said the convictions were deeply shocking and a severe blow to the defendants’ families, while emphasizing Kosovo’s memory of violence, killings and mass displacement during the war.
The three-judge panel at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers convicted the men of war crimes against civilians and political opponents who did not support the KLA, while dismissing charges of crimes against humanity. Thaci and Krasniqi each received 25-year prison sentences, Veseli was sentenced to 18 years and Selimi to 13 years. Defense lawyers said they would appeal.
The court, established by Kosovo’s parliament in 2015 and staffed by international judges in The Hague, handles allegations concerning KLA members during the 1998–99 Kosovo War. Thaci resigned as Kosovo’s president in 2020 after being charged and had denied the allegations.