Thousands of people gathered in Pristina today carrying banners of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), protesting against the trial of former KLA leaders, including the former president, accused of war crimes during the 1998-99 war of independence.
Former President Hashim Thaci, former parliament speakers Jakup Krasniqi and Kadri Veselji, as well as former MP Rexhep Selimi, were arrested in 2020 and sent to stand trial before the Kosovo Specialized Chambers for War Crimes in The Hague, Reuters reminds.
Thaci and three other former KLA commanders are charged with persecution, murder, torture and enforced disappearances during and immediately after the 1998-99 uprising, which ultimately led to the region's independence from Serbia.
They deny all the allegations.
The court is considering closing arguments in the trial this week, after which the judges are expected to issue a final verdict within three months. The prosecution is seeking a sentence of 45 years in prison for each of the defendants.
"Those who deserve to be in The Hague are the occupiers, not the liberators," Miran Zeka, 49, who came from Albania to protest in Pristina, told Reuters.
"We fought on our own land, we didn't go to Serbia to fight," said Bekim Muja (53), a veteran of the 1998-99 Kosovo war.
Many protesters wore KLA uniforms, while others waved KLA, Kosovo and Albanian flags. Supporters carried banners reading "Freedom has a name" and photos of Thaci and others with the message "Heroes of War and Peace."
Thaci (57) served as prime minister, foreign minister, and president of independent Kosovo between 2008 and 2020.
Kosovo's specialized chambers, staffed by international judges and prosecutors, were established in 2015 to prosecute war crimes under Kosovo law against former KLA members.
The tribunal was located outside of Kosovo due to concerns about witness intimidation, given that many in Kosovo view former KLA leaders as heroes of national liberation.
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