The Hague court sentences former Kosovo president Hashim Thaçi to 25 years in prison for war crimes

Verdict and sentences in The Hague

On 16 September 2026, the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague found four former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) guilty of war crimes. Former Kosovo president Hashim Thaçi and former parliament speaker Jakup Krasniqi were each sentenced to 25 years in prison. Co-defendants Kadri Veseli and Rexhep Selimi received sentences of 18 years and 13 years, producing a combined total of 81 years across the four men. Prosecutors had sought a 45-year sentence for the 58-year-old Thaçi, who resigned from the presidency in 2020 to face trial. Presiding Judge Charles L. Smith III delivered the first-instance judgment following a three-year trial.

“This case is not concerned with weighing the responsibilities of one side against those of the other.”

Hashim Thaçi25

Jakup Krasniqi25

Kadri Veseli18

Rexhep Selimi13

Hashim Thaçi

25 years

Jakup Krasniqi

25 years

Kadri Veseli

18 years

Rexhep Selimi

13 years

Data from the article text

Charges, findings, and acquittals

The Trial Panel convicted the four defendants of war crimes involving the arbitrary detention of 385 individuals, cruel treatment of 49 individuals, torture against 303 individuals, and the murder of 96 individuals. During the proceedings, the panel reviewed evidence from 273 witnesses who testified in court or submitted written statements, with 156 participating victims taking part in the case. The court acquitted all four accused of crimes against humanity, including persecution, imprisonment, and enforced disappearance. Judges determined that the prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the offenses constituted a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population. Defense lawyers had sought full acquittals, arguing their clients bore no personal responsibility for crimes committed in wartime detention centers.

Arbitrary detention385

Torture303

Murder96

Cruel treatment49

Arbitrary detention

385 individuals

Torture

303 individuals

Murder

96 individuals

Cruel treatment

49 individuals

Data from the article text

Sharp backlash and protests in Kosovo

The verdict triggered immediate public anger across Kosovo, where many view the KLA as a defense force that protected the population from Serbian oppression during the 1998–1999 conflict. In Pristina, crowds watching the trial on public screens reacted with distress and fury, and some demonstrators threw stones at the headquarters of the European Union rule-of-law mission. Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti described the decision as a travesty of justice and confirmed that the government would continue allocating state funds to back the defendants during their appeals. Several political figures called for the dissolution of the special tribunal, which operates under Kosovo law but is based in the Netherlands with international judges.

“For the vast majority of the population, the UÇK remains the force that fought for the country's freedom and contributed to the protection of people who had been denied basic rights for more than a century.”

Criticism from Serbian leadership

Reaction in Belgrade differed sharply from the protests in Pristina, with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić faulting the court for acquitting the defendants on crimes against humanity. Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday evening, Vučić asserted that the tribunal avoided challenging the KLA's legitimacy and ignored the political context of the armed rebellion against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. He also criticized the court for excluding abuses committed against Serbs after 20 June 1999, the date NATO-led KFOR peacekeepers entered Kosovo following the formal cessation of armed conflict. Vučić stated that Western institutions applied double standards by tolerating the vehement opposition to the court's findings in Kosovo.

“As a court of the so-called Kosovo, they did not want to undermine the credibility of the KLA and did not address the merits of the matter concerning the formation of forces aimed at seceding Kosovo from Serbia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.”