ContextThe Kosovo Specialist Chambers sentenced former president Hashim Thaçi to 25 years in prison on 16 September for wartime offences including murder, torture and unlawful detention. He denied the charges and his lawyers plan to appeal. [1][2]
Hundreds of people protested in Pristina's main square on 18 September, Prishtina Insight reported. Veterans' organisations demanded the dismissal of Justice Minister Donika Gërvalla, changes to the law governing the Specialist Chambers, expanded defence funding and international experts. [3]
ContextThe organisers announced another protest for 21 September. The demands are political positions; they do not alter the convictions, which remain subject to the tribunal's appeals process. [3][2]
Adds the 18 September demonstration, the veterans' groups' stated demands and the announced 21 September protest.
Updated ·
Adds 17 September protests, announced appeals and attributed regional responses.
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Protests resume after Thaçi verdict as lawyers prepare appeals
Demonstrations resumed in Pristina on 17 September; regional officials gave sharply differing responses to the convictions.
The Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague sentenced former president Hashim Thaçi to 25 years in prison on 16 September for wartime offences including murder, torture and unlawful detention, Reuters reported. He had denied the charges.
AP reported that Jakup Krasniqi received 25 years, Kadri Veseli 18 and Rexhep Selimi 13. The court acquitted the defendants on crimes-against-humanity counts, and appeals remain possible. The judges stressed individual responsibility rather than a judgment on the legitimacy of the KLA’s struggle.
Demonstrators resumed their protest in Pristina on 17 September, Prishtina Insight reported. The defendants’ lawyers plan appeals. The outlet reported stones and firecrackers thrown at government and EULEX buildings the previous evening; that does not establish continuing violence on Thursday.
Kurti condemned the ruling, while Serbia’s interior minister welcomed the convictions but criticised the dismissed crimes-against-humanity charges. Britain urged that individual findings not be used to inflame regional tensions.
Updated the pre-verdict story with the September 16 judgment and sentences; the earlier rally report remains in the article history.
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Thaçi sentenced to 25 years for war crimes
The Hague tribunal convicted Kosovo’s former president; the defendants retain the right to appeal.
The Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague sentenced former president Hashim Thaçi to 25 years in prison on 16 September for wartime offences including murder, torture and unlawful detention, Reuters reported. He had denied the charges.
AP reported that Jakup Krasniqi received 25 years, Kadri Veseli 18 and Rexhep Selimi 13. The court acquitted the defendants on crimes-against-humanity counts, and appeals remain possible. The judges stressed individual responsibility rather than a judgment on the legitimacy of the KLA’s struggle.
Thousands rally in Pristina before Thaçi war-crimes verdict
Supporters demonstrated four days before the Kosovo Specialist Chambers is due to rule in the case against four former KLA leaders.
Thousands of people rallied in Pristina on 12 September in support of former Kosovo president Hashim Thaçi and three other former Kosovo Liberation Army leaders, AP reported. Demonstrators gathered ahead of the judgment in their case at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague.
The court has scheduled the judgment for 16 September. Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi are accused of murder, torture and persecution during and after the 1998–99 conflict; all four deny the charges. AP reported that prosecutors have sought 45-year sentences.
ContextThe rally underscored the court's political sensitivity in Kosovo, where senior officials and veterans' groups have criticised the proceedings. Those criticisms are political positions; the judgment remains for the international panel to deliver.
A largely peaceful protest in Pristina challenged the Kosovo Specialist Chambers' September verdicts as EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited.
