THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Former Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Wednesday after the Kosovo Specialist Chambers found him guilty of four war crimes committed during the 1998–99 conflict.
The court convicted Thaçi of murder, torture, cruel treatment and arbitrary detention. It found that the crimes involved the killing of 96 people, the detention of 385 and the torture of 303 people, according to the judgment as reported after the hearing. The court also found cruel treatment involving 49 people.
Thaçi was tried alongside three other senior former Kosovo Liberation Army figures: Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi. The court convicted all four on the war-crime findings but acquitted them of six crimes-against-humanity charges after determining that the evidence did not establish the required widespread or systematic attack on a civilian population beyond reasonable doubt.
Court finds Thaçi responsible for specific crimes
The judgment concerned individual criminal responsibility for particular acts and conduct established during the trial. It was not a judgment on the Kosovo independence movement or the KLA as a whole.
According to reporting on the judgment, the Trial Panel found that Thaçi participated in and encouraged crimes against people regarded as opponents of the KLA. The victims included people who were not active combatants.
The prosecution had sought a substantially longer sentence, requesting 45 years for Thaçi. The court imposed 25 years after assessing the convictions and the circumstances relevant to sentencing.
The other defendants also received prison sentences. Veseli was sentenced to 18 years, Selimi to 15 years and Krasniqi to 26 years, according to reporting on the judgment.
Crimes against humanity charges end in acquittals
The court’s decision was not a conviction on every charge brought against the defendants.
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Thaçi and the other three former KLA leaders were acquitted of the crimes-against-humanity allegations in the case. The panel concluded that the prosecution had not proved beyond reasonable doubt that the alleged crimes formed part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population.
The distinction matters because the judgment establishes criminal responsibility for the four war crimes on which the defendants were convicted while rejecting other elements of the prosecution’s case.
The ruling is a first-instance judgment. Thaçi has denied the allegations and is expected to appeal.
Three other former KLA leaders convicted
Thaçi’s case was heard together with Veseli, Selimi and Krasniqi, who held prominent political or military positions within the KLA during the war.
The Kosovo Specialist Chambers said before the judgment that the trial had involved a substantial evidentiary record. Proceedings began in April 2023, the prosecution closed its case in April 2025, the defense phase ended in December 2025 and closing statements were heard in February 2026. The court records 156 participating victims in the case.
The judgment was delivered publicly in The Hague on Sept. 16 after the court scheduled the hearing for that date following an extension of the deliberation period. The Specialist Chambers said the extension was necessary because of the volume and complexity of the evidence.
Thaçi’s defense has denied wrongdoing
Thaçi has consistently denied the charges.
His defense argued during the proceedings that the prosecution’s allegations were not supported by sufficient evidence and disputed claims concerning his responsibility for crimes committed during the conflict. Thaçi is expected to challenge the first-instance judgment through the appeals process.
The verdict does not therefore represent the final judicial stage of the case.
The proceedings also took place against a background of concern over the protection of witnesses. The prosecution relied on testimony from witnesses whose identities and evidence were subject to protective measures during parts of the trial.
A wartime leader who became Kosovo’s president
Thaçi’s political career has been closely tied to Kosovo’s transition from armed conflict to statehood.
During the 1998–99 war, he served as a political leader of the KLA. He later became prime minister and was a member of the Kosovo team involved in the international negotiations over the territory’s status. Kosovo’s presidency records that Thaçi declared Kosovo’s independence in the Assembly on Feb. 17, 2008.
He subsequently served as prime minister from 2007 to 2014 and became president in 2016. He resigned the presidency in 2020 after the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office confirmed an indictment against him, allowing him to face the proceedings in The Hague.
That history has made the verdict particularly significant inside Kosovo, where Thaçi remains closely associated with the country’s wartime struggle and its emergence as an independent state.
Verdict exposes competing views of Kosovo’s wartime legacy
The ruling has already produced strong reactions in Kosovo.
Supporters of Thaçi and the other defendants protested in Pristina after the verdict. The response reflects the continuing divide between those who view former KLA leaders primarily through the struggle against Serbian forces and those who emphasize accountability for crimes committed during and after the conflict.
Amnesty International welcomed the convictions, describing them as an affirmation that senior officials are not above the law.
The competing reactions underscore the distinction between the court’s legal findings and the broader political interpretation of the Kosovo war. The judgment addresses specific criminal allegations and evidence presented in this case; it does not determine the historical legitimacy of Kosovo’s independence or assign criminal responsibility to the KLA as an organization.
Kosovo-Serbia tensions remain part of the background
The verdict also comes against the unresolved political relationship between Kosovo and Serbia.
Kosovo declared independence in 2008, but Serbia continues to reject the declaration. The two sides have pursued European Union-backed efforts to normalize relations, while disputes over Kosovo’s status remain a major regional political issue.
Thaçi was involved in both the wartime diplomacy surrounding the Kosovo conflict and later negotiations concerning Kosovo’s political status. His conviction therefore connects a criminal proceeding over wartime abuses with the political history of the territory’s transition from conflict to statehood.
The court’s findings do not resolve the larger dispute between Kosovo and Serbia. They establish the responsibility the judges found in this particular case.
Appeal will determine the next stage
Thaçi’s 25-year sentence is subject to the judicial process that follows a first-instance judgment.
An appeal would give the defense an opportunity to challenge the convictions and sentence before the Appeals Panel. Thaçi’s continued legal proceedings also mean that the Sept. 16 judgment is not necessarily the final determination in the case.
For victims and their families, the judgment provides a judicial finding on crimes that occurred more than two decades ago. For Kosovo, it confronts one of the country’s most prominent post-war political figures with a criminal judgment concerning conduct during the conflict.
The appeals process will now determine whether those findings and the 25-year sentence remain in place.
Reporting Credit: Kosovo Specialist Chambers — judgment schedule, case record and proceedings; Specialist Prosecutor’s Office — prosecution of the case; Presidency and Government of Kosovo — Thaçi’s documented political career and role in Kosovo’s independence process; Amnesty International — response to the convictions.
