Kosovo awaiting the verdict — hours before the judgment on the four former KLA leaders

After three years of trial in The Hague and nearly six years in detention, the verdict in the case against former Kosovo Liberation Army leaders Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi will be delivered today, September 16, 2026, at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers.

The hearing will start at 10:00 and is expected to last until 12:00.

The verdict comes at the end of a long trial, during which witnesses were heard and a large number of pieces of evidence presented by the parties were examined.

Thaçi, Veseli, Selimi and Krasniqi face charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes.

They were arrested in November 2020, while the trial began on April 3, 2023.

The prosecution finished presenting evidence on April 15, 2025; the defense finished in December 2025, while closing statements were held in February 2026.

The indictment includes allegations of persecution, imprisonment, other inhumane acts, torture, murder and enforced disappearance, as well as charges of unlawful or arbitrary arrest and detention, cruel treatment, torture and murder.

According to the indictment, the alleged crimes relate to the period of 1998 and 1999 and to several locations in Kosovo, as well as in northern Albania. The indictment’s allegations do not constitute final findings of the court.

The alleged victims include Serbs, Roma and Albanians considered opponents of the KLA.

The prosecution claims that Thaçi, Veseli, Selimi and Krasniqi were part of a “joint criminal enterprise” aimed at taking and exercising control over Kosovo, including through intimidation, mistreatment, violence and the removal of those considered opponents.

However, all four former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army had pleaded not guilty.

During the trial, in response to the prosecution’s claims, the defense brought some of the best-known international names who had been directly involved in the developments of 1998–1999 during the war in Kosovo.

One of the testimonies that drew the most attention was that of American General Wesley Clark.

The former NATO Supreme Commander, who led the Alliance’s air campaign in 1999 against Yugoslav forces, testified for two days in The Hague.

His message was clear: Hashim Thaçi had no responsibility for the individual acts of violence and revenge that had occurred in Kosovo.

Clark went even further in his testimony.

He stated that members of the Kosovo Liberation Army were not terrorists, but people fighting against an unjust regime and for the country’s freedom.

At the end of his testimony, Clark said that even after following this trial, he continued to stand by his conviction that Hashim Thaçi was not responsible for individual acts of violence in Kosovo.

After him testified James Rubin, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State and one of the officials directly involved in American diplomacy during the Kosovo war and the Rambouillet negotiations.

Rubin described Hashim Thaçi as the “political face” of the Kosovo Liberation Army.

According to his testimony, Thaçi had no control or effective command over the KLA’s zone commanders.

Rubin also spoke about how the United States viewed Thaçi’s role during that period, as well as about the relationship between the KLA’s political and military structures.

In addition to Wesley Clark and James Rubin, diplomats, experts and former international officials with direct knowledge of developments in Kosovo during 1998–1999 also testified for the defense.

Gashi: In case of an acquittal, detention ends immediately – return could be organized within the day

Lawyer Tomë Gashi spoke to Telegrafi about what could happen if the verdict against the former Kosovo Liberation Army leaders is an acquittal.

Gashi said that, in his assessment, such a decision would also end the detention, while the technical matters of their return to Kosovo would remain.

“The moment an acquittal is announced, detention is terminated by the same decision and then it’s technical matters of organization,” he said.

Gashi expressed the expectation that, in such a scenario, the return to Pristina could be organized within the day.

“Since the verdict will be announced in the morning, flights can be arranged within the day and they are brought to Pristina,” Gashi declared.

He said such a return would be met with a large demonstration in Kosovo.

“We are not saying the verdict should be an acquittal just because we are Albanians, but international law is on our side,” Gashi concluded.

In an interview for Telegrafi, Gashi spoke about the trial in The Hague, the evidence presented during it, the possible scenarios of the verdict and what, in his view, would happen in case of an acquittal. Source: Telegrafi