Hague court sentences former Kosovo president Hashim Thaci to 25 years for war crimes The Kosovo Specialist Chambers convicted former president Hashim Thaci of murder, torture, cruel treatment and arbitrary detention during the 1998-99 war. Three other former Kosovo Liberation Army leaders also received prison sentences, while all four defendants were acquitted of six crimes against humanity charges. THE HAGUE, Netherlands - A European Union-backed court on Wednesday sentenced former Kosovo president Hashim Thaci to 25 years in prison after convicting him of four war crimes committed during Kosovo's 1998-99 war for independence from Serbia. The Kosovo Specialist Chambers found Thaci guilty of murder, torture, cruel treatment and arbitrary detention. The judgment was delivered at the court in The Hague on September 16, 2026, according to the published report, and Thaci can appeal the conviction and sentence. Thaci, 58, resigned as Kosovo's president nearly six years ago to defend himself against the charges. He stood silently in a suit and tie as presiding judge Charles Smith read out the sentence.There was no immediate reaction from Thaci's supporters in the courtroom's public gallery. Hundreds of additional supporters waited outside the courthouse in The Hague, while thousands of people in Kosovo's capital, Pristina, watched the verdict on a large public screen. Some people in Pristina began shouting UCK, the Albanian-language acronym for the Kosovo Liberation Army, or KLA. Thaci led the KLA's political directorate during the war before entering politics and becoming one of Kosovo's most prominent leaders.Fetahu, a supporter of the former KLA leaders, said the judges had put the victims together with the aggressors. The verdict prompted anger among many supporters who regard Thaci and the other defendants as national heroes of Kosovo's struggle against Serbian forces. Judge Smith said Thaci used his position, leadership, authority and standing to encourage crimes.The American judge also emphasized that the trial was not about the legitimacy of the KLA or its ultimate goal of securing independence for Kosovo, which was then a province of Serbia. Thaci was tried alongside three other former KLA leaders: Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi. Prosecutors accused the men of targeting political opponents and civilians they viewed as collaborators or traitors during the conflict. The four defendants were acquitted of six charges of crimes against humanity.The judges said prosecutors had failed to prove that the alleged crimes were part of a widespread and systematic attack on civilians. Veseli was sentenced to 18 years in prison, Selimi to 13 years and Krasniqi to 25 years. All four men denied the charges. Prosecutors had sought the maximum possible sentence of 45 years for Thaci and each of the other defendants.The rulings followed demonstrations in support of the men. Thousands rallied in Pristina over the weekend, filling a central square while carrying red and black Albanian flags. Portraits of the former KLA fighters were displayed across the city, alongside a huge digital clock counting down to the verdicts. As his trial ended in February, Thaci told the judges that throughout his life he had stood with the people of Kosovo while defending freedom, life and dignity.He said he had always been guided by Western ideals of democracy, equality and justice. The court was established with international support and its staff are largely international because of concerns about witness safety and security. In 2022, it convicted two leaders of a Kosovo war veterans' association for intimidating witnesses by publicizing leaked confidential documents. Thaci also faces a separate trial on charges of intimidating witnesses.That case is scheduled to begin later this month. The proceedings add to the legal troubles of a politician once embraced by Western leaders as a figure who could guide Kosovo toward independence and democratic government. Thaci returned from what he described as political exile in Switzerland as a student to join Kosovo's independence struggle. During the war, he earned the nickname the Snake for his ability to evade Serbian forces.After the conflict, Thaci rose to political power and became president. He resigned from that office to appear before the court in The Hague, ending a political career that had included a prominent role in the 1999 peace talks in France. The Kosovo war left about 13,000 people dead, most of them ethnic Albanians. A 78-day NATO air campaign against Serbian forces ended the fighting, and about 1 million ethnic Albanian Kosovars were driven from their homes.Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but Belgrade still refuses to recognize the move. Relations between Kosovo and Serbia remain tense despite years of negotiations mediated by the European Union and supported by the United States.