The big verdict tomorrow: two hours allotted for the judgment against the KLA four

After several years of trial in The Hague, the verdict in the court case against the former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army, Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi, will be announced tomorrow.

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers have announced that the session for the announcement of the verdict will be held on Wednesday, September 16, at the court’s headquarters in The Hague. The session will begin at 10:00 and, according to the official announcement, is planned to last until 12:00.

The verdict to be announced tomorrow comes after the conclusion of a long trial, in 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. The indictment includes allegations of persecution, imprisonment, other inhumane acts, torture, murder and forced disappearance, as well as charges of illegal 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 allegations in the indictment do not constitute final findings of the court. The alleged victims include Serbs, Roma and Albanians who were considered opponents of the KLA. 156 victims are included in the proceedings.

The trial against the four former KLA leaders began in April 2023. 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.

During this process, the Specialist Prosecution presented its claims, while testimonies and arguments were subsequently also presented by the Victims’ Counsel and the defense teams of the accused. During the proceedings, 134 witnesses testified in the courtroom: 125 called by the Prosecution, two by the victims’ representative and seven by the defense.

In the end, the Prosecution asked that all four be found guilty on all counts of the indictment and sentenced to 45 years in prison each. The defense asked for acquittal.

In recent months, the trial panel has been engaged in examining and evaluating the material collected during the proceedings, before the date for announcing the decision was set.

Interest in tomorrow’s session is also high in Kosovo. The session will also be accessible via the online broadcast of the Specialist Chambers, enabling the announcement of the verdict to be followed from Kosovo and beyond. Tomorrow’s decision will be the first-instance verdict in this case. After its announcement, the parties have the right to use the legal remedies provided for in the procedures of the Specialist Chambers.

Attention is now focused on the September 16 session, when after a long trial the decision on Thaçi, Veseli, Selimi and Krasniqi will be made public.