Former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci faces verdict for alleged war crimes, tell me about this news in (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/16/former-kosovo-president-hashim-thaci-faces-verdict-for-alleged-war-crimes)
16-09-2026
The Kosovo war crimes tribunal in The Hague is delivering its verdict in the trial of former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and three other former high-ranking wartime commanders: Jakup Krasniqi, Rexhep Selimi, and Kadri Veseli.Thaci, 58, along with the other former commanders of the ethnic Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), faces multiple charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, torture, and persecution during the 1998–1999 conflict against Serbian forces. Prosecutors allege that the accused targeted political opponents as well as civilians seen as collaborators or traitors, and they have requested a 45-year prison sentence for each defendant.All four men deny the charges. Thaci’s defense has maintained that no evidence directly connects him to the alleged offenses, stating there is no record of orders issued by Thaci to perpetrators or reports submitted back to him.The trial is deeply polarizing within Kosovo, where Thaci and former KLA figures are widely celebrated by many Kosovo Albanians for their role in the war of independence. Ahead of the verdict, tens of thousands of people rallied in the capital, Pristina, calling for their acquittal and displaying banners asserting their innocence.