PRISTINA: Kosovo’s former president Hashim Thaci was sentenced to 25 years in prison by a tribunal in The Hague on Wednesday for war crimes, in a verdict that sparked shock and anger among many Kosovars.
Judges found Thaci and three other former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) leaders guilty of illegal arrests, torture, murder and cruel treatment of people during the 1998-1999 war for independence from Serbia.
As leaders of the KLA, they were ruled responsible for murders, illegal detentions, torture and poor treatment by the KLA during, after and before the war. But among many Kosovo Albanians, Thaci and his co-defendants are still widely lauded as heroes of its independence movement with thousands gathering in the Balkannation’s capital Pristina to watch the verdict on a large screen.
As the verdict was delivered, silence settled over the attendees, leaving many visibly stunned after weeks of preparations by Thaci’s supporters for a possible acquittal.
‘This process was not about justice, but politics,’ pensioner Tahir Bytygi said among the crowd, which quickly dispersed after the proceedings finished.
Elsewhere in the capital, a crowd of young men marched towards the headquarters of the European Union’s Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX), waving KLA flags and chanting the guerrilla group’s name. Some scuffled with riot police and threw stones at the building.
In The Hague, angry demonstrators who had gathered near the court also briefly clashed with police, with some climbing onto a police van as officers held them back from the court building. A water cannon was used to disperse the crowd.
‘Unacceptable injustice’ The trial has remained deeply controversial within the Balkan nation, with the country’s primeminister Albin Kurti labelling the verdict ‘a great and harmful punishment’ and calling for it to be ‘corrected’ on appeal. ‘These are unjust findings, but they are not final and will be subject to review on appeal,’ Kurti said in a post on Facebook.
‘The reason the KLA was born was not, and cannot, be punished ortarnished.’ Thaciwassentenced alongside former senior KLA figures Jakup Krasniqi, Rexhep Selimi and Kadri Veseli. Krasniqi was sentenced to 25 years, Selimi to 13 and Veseli to 18.
The court said they had ‘contributed significantly’ to a common criminal purpose targeting perceived opponents of the KLA’s political and military goals. All four were acquitted of charges of crimes against humanity and can appeal the sentence.
During the appeals process, Thaci and his co-accused will remain detained in The Hague.
Thaci also faces a second trial over alleged obstruction of justice related to this case, for which prosecutors have requested a sentence of six years.-AFP