Kosovo's ex-president Thaci jailed for 25 years for war crimes

Kosovo's former president Hashim Thaci was sentenced to 25 years by a tribunal in The Hague on Wednesday for war crimes, the court said in a long-awaited verdict likely to spark outrage in the Balkan country.

The judges said Thaci, who was tried along with three other former guerrilla leaders, was guilty of illegal arrests, torture, murder and cruel treatment committed by guerrilla fighters.

In Kosovo's capital, a large crowd gathered to watch live on large screens the sentencing of a man many revere as a hero.

As the decision was delivered, the crowd fell silent, with many appearing to be shocked by the decision -- after weeks of preparation by his supporters for his possible acquittal.

Thaci's fellow former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) figures Jakup Krasniqi, Rexhep Selimi and Kadri Veseli were also found guilty and sentenced.

Krasniqi received 25 years in prison, Selimi got 13 years and Veseli 18 years.

All four were determined to be criminally responsible for the arbitrary detention and torture of hundreds of people and 96 murders, according to the court.

But they were acquitted of crimes against humanity charges.

The court also said Thaci, Veseli, Selimi and Krasniqi had "contributed significantly" during the Kosovo conflict to a common criminal purpose targeting perceived opponents of the KLA's political and military goals.

Thaci resigned as president and surrendered to the court after his 2020 indictment. He has remained in detention in The Hague ever since, with his time served counted toward his sentence.

For many inside Kosovo, Thaci and the KLA are symbols of its independence movement.

After the war, Thaci remained a central political figure and was instrumental in its 2008 declaration of independence.

Throughout the trial, images of the 58-year-old, who also served as prime minister, have regularly appeared on huge billboards around the country.

"A terrible judgment for Kosovo, for our liberation war. It is a sad, unjust, undeserved decision," Kosovo Foreign Minister Glauk Konjufca told media outside the court.

Expectations of a possible release of Thaci and his co-accused drew huge crowds for a rally over the weekend and on Wednesday, hundreds gathered in the capital again ahead of the verdict as clocks ticked down to the decision.

But once it became clear the former president would remain in detention, the square was almost deserted within minutes.

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC), although based in the Netherlands and staffed by international judges, was established under Kosovo law specifically to prosecute alleged crimes committed by KLA members during the war.

Before the court was established, earlier cases in Kosovo largely failed because of alleged witness intimidation and political interference.

Deeply unpopular from its foundation, the court's use of evidence supplied by Belgrade, which still refuses to recognise its former province's independence, has further inflamed accusations of political bias.

Prosecutors have tried throughout the trial to distinguish between the country's independence struggle and the men on trial.

They say all four men are responsible for crimes committed against prisoners held at KLA detention facilities in Kosovo and neighbouring Albania, as well as the politically motivated murders of Serb, Albanian and Roma civilians.

The crimes were committed during and just after the Kosovo war, which claimed some 13,000 lives.

In response, the men's lawyers had argued that the KLA lacked a strict command structure and the senior figures could not control or be held responsible for fighters who committed crimes.