Former leader of Kosovo to face accusations at the Hague for war crimes and crimes against humanity
On April 3rd, the trial of Hashim Thaçi, former-president and prime minister of Kosovo, began at the Hague. As a former member of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), Thaçi is charged for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the Kosovo war (1998-1999), such as murder, forced displacement, rape and torture. Along with the former president, three other former members of the KLA shall face prosecutions: Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi. The four together were allegedly part of a joint criminal enterprise operating in Kosovo during the conflict, as sustained by the prosecutor of the case.
This is not the first time that former members of KLA have faced prosecutions at the Hague. According to the Human Rights Watch report, in December 2022, Salih Mustafa, a member of the KLA War Veterans Association was convicted with a 26-years prison sentence for the commitment of war crimes against ethnic Albanians. Pjetër Shala, another member of the Association, has been facing similar charges since February.
The crimes committed by Hashim Thaçi and the others were not covered by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), whose major accomplishments were prosecuting key leaders of the conflicts in the region, such as Slobodan Milosevic. However, the trial of Thaçi, to be conducted by the Hague after 24 years since the end of the war, marks the international effort for respecting the rule of law and promoting social justice in the region.