The Hague Rules on Hashim Thaçi’s Visits

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague has made a new decision regarding visits to former president Hashim Thaçi at the detention center, in the context of the second trial in which he is accused of attempted obstruction of justice. The decision, dated September 21, was signed by Judge Christopher Gosnell.

According to the Kosovo Specialist Chambers’ announcement, the visitation ban will remain in force only for four persons, while for other specified visitors the ban is lifted with immediate effect. “Their visits will be actively monitored,” the court’s announcement states.

In the reasoning of the decision, Judge Gosnell found that the progress of the proceedings has significantly reduced, if not fully eliminated, the risk of witness influence in this trial. However, according to him, continuing the visitation ban for the four designated individuals remains proportional and necessary to preserve the integrity of the process.

The visitation restrictions will be reviewed again in December 2026, while the court will continue to monitor the situation.

In another decision, dated September 16, related to detention in the “Thaçi and others” case, Trial Panel II temporarily suspended the limit on the number of Thaçi’s, Veseli’s and Selimi’s non-privileged personal visits for the period September 16–21, 2026, authorizing the Administrator to schedule additional visits during that period.

Source: Klan Kosova