Former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci Sentenced to 25 Years for War Crimes

Former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for war crimes by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague. The European Union-backed international court delivered its judgment on Wednesday, finding Thaci, 58, guilty of charges stemming from his time as a senior commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during the 1998-1999 war for independence from Serbia.

Thaci was convicted of various war crimes, including murder, torture, cruel treatment, and arbitrary detention. Specifically, the court found him responsible for the arbitrary detention of 385 people, the cruel treatment of 49, the torture of 303 detainees, and the murder of 96 individuals. However, he and three other co-defendants, also former KLA leaders, were acquitted on six charges of crimes against humanity, as prosecutors failed to prove these were part of widespread or systematic attacks on civilians.

Thaci, who resigned from his presidency nearly six years ago to face these charges, stood in silence as the presiding judge read the sentence. The trial has been a sensitive issue in Kosovo, where many view Thaci and the KLA as national heroes for their role in the independence conflict.