Thousands of people attended a demonstration in Pristina protesting the prison sentences handed down in The Hague to former commanders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).
Former KLA soldiers, veterans, politicians and citizens took part in the protest organized by the KLA War Veterans Organization in Skanderbeg Square. The demonstration lasted about an hour and ended without incident.
Call for the verdict to be overturned
Speaking at the event, Altin Krasniqi, the son of Jakup Krasniqi, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison in The Hague, said the history of the KLA was not only the history of those who waged an armed struggle, but also of a people who refused to submit.
Krasniqi said the people rose up when faced with injustice and the denial of their freedom and dignity, adding that the struggle should continue not through hatred and revenge, but on the basis of argument, law, dignity and unity.
Hysni Gucati, head of the KLA War Veterans Organization, called on the court to overturn the convictions against former KLA members. Gucati also called for more than 2 million Albanians to be recognized as a people who rose up to defend their own children.
The Hague sentences
The verdicts against Thaçi, Jakup Krasniqi, Kadri Veseli and Rexhep Selimi were announced in a trial held in The Hague on September 16.
The court found the four men guilty of war crimes, including arbitrary detention involving 385 people, mistreatment involving 49 people, torture involving 303 people and murder involving 96 people.
Under the verdict, Thaçi and Krasniqi were each sentenced to 25 years in prison, Veseli to 18 years and Selimi to 13 years.
The special court’s jurisdiction
The special court, also known as the Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office, and its Specialist Prosecutor’s Office were established in The Hague. The judicial body consists of international judges and prosecutors and operates under Kosovo law.
The institution was established to investigate and prosecute alleged war crimes committed in Kosovo between 1998 and 2000. Beginning in early 2019, the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office invited dozens of former KLA members to give statements.
Thaçi, Krasniqi, Veseli and Selimi had been held in pretrial detention in The Hague since April 3, 2023. The first indictment against the four men was confirmed on October 26, 2020.
The indictment alleged that the defendants were responsible for the deaths of approximately 100 people and accused them of war crimes including murder, deportation and torture.
The Kosovo War and independence
The Kosovo War of 1998–1999 ended with NATO’s ground and air operation against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, formed by Serbia and Montenegro.
More than 10,000 people in Kosovo, most of them Albanians, were killed in the war, while more than 1 million Kosovars from different ethnic groups were forced to leave their homes.
The KLA was established by Kosovo Albanians in the 1990s to oppose Yugoslav forces and turn Kosovo into an independent country. The organization was disbanded after the war, and its commanders and soldiers joined Kosovo’s newly established security institutions.
Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia on February 17, 2008. Serbia continues to regard Kosovo as its own territory.
