A Hague court convicts Kosovo’s former President Thaci of war crimes and sentences him to 25 years

Former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci was found guilty of war crimes including murder, torture and illegal detention by the Kosovo war crimes tribunal in The Hague on Wednesday. THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A European Union-backed court on Wednesday convicted former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci of four counts of war crimes committed during his country’s war for independence from Serbia and sentenced him to 25 years in prison.Thaci, who is 58, resigned from office nearly six years ago to face the charges. He was convicted by a panel of judges at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers of murder, torture, cruel treatment and arbitrary detention.

Both he and the prosecutors, who had asked for a stricter sentence, can appeal.The judgment was a crushing blow for a man who was once embraced by the West, invited to the 1999 peace talks in France and seen as the leader who could guide Kosovo to independence.Presiding Judge Charles Smith painted a very different picture, however, saying that Thaci actively participated in and encouraged crimes, including by promoting individuals involved in crimes.”Thaci “showed a ruthless ability to remove and eliminate political impediments” to his and other commanders' leadership, Smith added.Wearing a suit and tie, Thaci stood in silence as Smith read out the sentence.Supporters swiftly slam Thaci's verdictKosovo Foreign Minister Glauk Konjufca condemned the verdicts. “This is a terrible judgment for Kosovo, for our people and for our liberation war,” he said.Hundreds of supporters waited at a park near the courthouse in The Hague, and some clashed briefly with Dutch riot police.In Kosovo's capital, Pristina, thousands of people watched the hearing live on a huge screen and were stunned at the sentence. Some started shouting “UCK,” the Albanian-language acronym for the Kosovo Liberation Army that Thaci once led before entering politics.One supporter, Bekim Fetahu, said the verdict was “a catastrophic decision.”“They (judges) have put the victims together with the aggressors,” Fetahu added.Smith, the presiding judge, said Thaci “used his position, leadership, authority and standing” to encourage crimes and failed to investigate or punish abuse by KLA fighters.However, the American judge also stressed that the trial was “not about the legitimacy of the Kosovo Liberation Army” or its ultimate goal of securing independence for Kosovo, which at the time was a province in Serbia.Thaci was on trial with three other former KLA leaders who fought Serb forces in the 1998-99 war.

They pleaded not guilty to all charges ag… He can appeal.The judgment was a crushing blow for a man once embraced by Western leaders, who had invited him to the 1999 peace talks in France, and who was seen as a leader who could guide the country toward independence.Wearing a suit and tie, Thaci stood in silence as Presiding Judge Charles Smith read out the sentence.There was no immediate reaction from Thaci's supporters who packed the court's public gallery. Hundreds more supporters were waiting outside the courthouse in The Hague.In Kosovo's capital, Pristina, thousands of people watched the reading of the verdict live on a huge screen and were stunned at the sentence.

They are widely regarded as national heroes in Kosovo.The four were all acquitted on six charges of crimes against humanity because the judges said the prosecutors failed to prove that crimes were committed as part of a widespread and systematic attack on civilians.The prosecutors had asked for a maximum 45-year prison sentence for Thaci and the other defendants, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi. All denied the charges against them. Hashim Thaci was found guilty of murdering 96 political opponents and convicted of the arbitrary and illegal detention of 385 people, the torture of 303 and the cruel treatment of around 50 others.

(AFP pic)THE HAGUE: Former Kosovo president Hashim Thaci was found guilty of war crimes including murder, torture and illegal detention by the Kosovo war crimes tribunal on Wednesday.Thaci, 58, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for crimes committed as top commander of the ethnic Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during the territory's violent break from Serbia in the 1990s.The tribunal said he was guilty of the murder of 96 political opponents and perceived collaborators with Serbian security forces by Kosovo Liberation Army forces during the conflict.He was also convicted for the arbitrary illegal detention of 385 people, torture of 303 people and cruel treatment of around 50.The court said Thaci had "actively participated in and encouraged crimes".Thaci, who stood in silence as the judge read out the conviction and the sentence, had denied all charges.The ruling was closely watched in Kosovo and Serbia, where the legacy of the 1998-99 conflict and Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence remain a source of tension between ethnic Kosovo Albanians and Serbs.Thaci remains a revered figure for many Kosovo Albanians, while the tribunal itself is deeply unpopular in Kosovo.In Pristina, thousands of people watching the verdict on a big screen booed the verdict and chanted "Thaci, Thaci" as some burst into tears.Outside the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague dozens of Thaci supporters had gathered ahead of the verdict waving KLA flags and chanting "UCK", the Albanian acronym for the army. A European Union-backed court convicted former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci of war crimes committed during his country's war for independence from Serbia and sentenced him to 25 years in prison. Thaci, 58, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for ‌crimes including murder, ​torture and illegal detention.