Hague Court Convicts Ex-Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi and Three Former KLA Leaders

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague on Wednesday convicted former Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi and three other former senior Kosovo officials and ex-Kosovo Liberation Army leaders of war crimes, while acquitting them of crimes against humanity in the court’s most prominent case linked to the 1998-99 conflict. In first-instance judgments delivered Sept. 16, the panel sentenced Thaçi to 25 years in prison, Kadri Veseli to 18 years, Rexhep Selimi to 13 years and Jakup Krasniqi to 25 years, with credit for time already served.

According to Amnesty International’s summary of the judgment, the panel found all four men guilty of arbitrary detention affecting 385 people, cruel treatment affecting 49 people, torture affecting 303 people and murder affecting 96 people. Amnesty also said the panel found the four not guilty of crimes against humanity. The rulings can be appealed to the KSC Appeals Panel.

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers is an EU-backed court established under Kosovo law and seated in The Hague. Created in 2015, it was set up to investigate and prosecute serious crimes tied to the 1998-2000 period, with international judges and staff. The case has been closely watched as the largest and most politically sensitive before the court, involving a former Kosovo president and other senior wartime-era figures in what has been seen as a test of accountability for crimes committed during and after the Kosovo war.

The indictment covered alleged crimes committed from at least March 1998 through September 1999 at locations in Kosovo and in Kukës and Cahan in northern Albania. Thaçi resigned as Kosovo’s president in November 2020 after he was indicted. He, Veseli, Selimi and Krasniqi were arrested in November 2020 and transferred to detention in The Hague on Nov. 4 and 5 that year. The public trial opened in April 2023, evidentiary proceedings closed in December 2025, and closing statements were heard in February 2026.

In a statement issued after the ruling, Amnesty International’s Esther Major said, “These convictions show that senior officials are not above the law.”

The scale of the case underscored its significance: the KSC case record lists 125 prosecution witnesses and 156 participating victims. AP reported that supporters gathered in Pristina and in The Hague, and that clashes broke out between supporters and Dutch police near the courthouse.