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Former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci is set to learn Wednesday whether he is guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity as judges at a special court in The Hague deliver their verdict in his nearly three-year trial.
Thaci faces charges including murder, torture and persecution over alleged crimes committed during Kosovo’s 1998-99 war of independence from Serbia. Three other former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) leaders — Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi — are being tried alongside him. All four have denied the charges.
Prosecutors at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers have sought maximum prison sentences of 45 years for each defendant.
The prosecution alleges that the former KLA leaders targeted political opponents and civilians they regarded as collaborators or traitors during the conflict.
The verdict has drawn widespread attention in Kosovo, where the four defendants are widely regarded as national heroes.
Thousands of supporters gathered in Pristina over the weekend, carrying red-and-black Albanian flags and demanding their acquittal. Posters of the former KLA fighters have been displayed across the capital, alongside a digital clock counting down to the verdict.
“Throughout my life, I stood with the people of Kosovo defending freedom, life and dignity,” Thaci told the judges in February as his trial concluded. He said he had been guided by the principles of democracy, equality and justice.
The EU-backed Kosovo Specialist Chambers operates largely with international staff amid concerns about the safety of witnesses.
In 2022, the court convicted two leaders of a Kosovo war veterans’ association for intimidating witnesses by publicly disclosing leaked confidential documents.
Thaci also faces a separate case involving allegations of witness intimidation. That trial is scheduled to begin later this month.
Thaci rose to prominence during Kosovo’s struggle for independence after joining the KLA’s political campaign while still a student. During the war, he became known by the nickname “the Snake” for his ability to evade Serbian forces.
Western governments backed Thaci during the conflict, and he represented the KLA as its political director at the 1999 peace talks in France.
After the war, he entered politics and eventually became Kosovo’s president. He resigned from the presidency to defend himself against the charges in The Hague.
Around 13,000 people were killed during the Kosovo war, most of them ethnic Albanians.
A 78-day NATO air campaign against Serbian forces helped end the fighting, while about 1 million ethnic Albanian Kosovars were displaced.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but Belgrade continues to reject the declaration.
Relations between Kosovo and Serbia remain tense despite years of EU-mediated negotiations supported by the United States.
