The Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague has sentenced former Kosovo president Hashim Thaçi to 25 years in prison after finding him guilty of war crimes including unlawful detention, torture, murder and cruel treatment. The tribunal said the 58-year-old was responsible for the murder of 96 political opponents, the illegal deprivation of liberty of 385 people and the torture of 303 others. It found that Thaçi had “actively encouraged” the crimes and participated in them.
The case centres on Thaçi’s role in the Kosovo Liberation Army, or UÇK, a paramilitary organisation that described itself as a “liberation army” and fought Serbian forces during Kosovo’s war of independence in 1998 and 1999. Prosecutors had accused Thaçi and three other UÇK commanders of responsibility for the deaths of more than 100 people, with some of the alleged crimes taking place after the fighting had ended.
Many of the victims were Kosovo Albanians accused of collaborating with Serbs or regarded as opponents of the UÇK. Serbs, Roma and members of other ethnic groups were also among those killed. The tribunal’s judgment found the four defendants criminally responsible for arbitrary detention involving 385 individuals, torture involving 303 individuals and murder involving 96 individuals.
Thaçi denied the allegations during the trial, while the three co-defendants also pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors had sought 45-year prison sentences for all four defendants over war crimes and crimes against humanity. The trial, which began on 3 April 2023, followed years of investigation into allegations concerning crimes committed between March 1998 and September 1999 in Kosovo and parts of northern Albania.
The ruling represents a significant moment in the long-running judicial effort to address crimes attributed to members of the UÇK. The Kosovo conflict claimed around 13,000 lives. Nato and the United Nations intervened in the conflict in 1999, after which Serbian forces withdrew from the territory. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, although the Serbian government continues to regard Kosovo as a province of Serbia and part of its territory.
For Thaçi’s supporters, however, the verdict strikes at the legacy of a figure regarded as a war hero who helped lead Kosovo towards independence. Thousands of people gathered in Prishtinë, the capital of Kosovo, over the weekend to express their support for Thaçi and the other defendants.
The Kosovo Specialist Chambers began its work in 2015. Although formally part of Kosovo’s judicial system, the tribunal was established in The Hague following international pressure to prosecute crimes allegedly committed by the Kosovo-Albanian side during the conflict. In 2020, the tribunal confirmed the indictment against Thaçi, prompting him to resign as president.
The proceedings have involved an extensive evidentiary record. According to the tribunal, 273 witnesses gave evidence in court or in writing, while thousands of exhibits were admitted into evidence. The evidentiary proceedings closed in December 2025, with closing statements held in February 2026 before the judgment was delivered on 16 September 2026.
