FLASH NEWS
Trial against former KLA leaders, Special Prosecution concludes presentation of evidence against Thaçi and others
2025-04-16 10:24:05 / KOSOVA
The Specialist Prosecutor's Office (SPO) has officially completed the presentation of evidence in the trial against former Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi, as well as former senior KLA officials Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi. Their trial began on 3 April 2023 at the Specialist Chambers in The Hague.
During this phase, the SPO presented 3,000 pieces of material evidence in several languages and called 125 witnesses to the courtroom to give direct testimony, while submitting over 1,430 legal submissions related to the case.
The four defendants are accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including the murder of over 100 people, unlawful detention and torture of hundreds of civilians, mainly during the period March 1998 – September 1999, in several locations in Kosovo and northern Albania.
According to the indictment, the crimes were committed against civilians and persons who did not participate in the fighting. In this process, over 150 victims are involved and are represented by the Victims' Advocate.
Specialist Prosecutor Kimberly West praised the courage of the victims and witnesses who have testified over the past two years:
“The willingness of the witnesses to testify was extremely important and I applaud their courage in speaking out in the courtroom.”
She expressed gratitude to all those who contributed to the collection and presentation of evidence and underlined the importance of justice for the future of Kosovo:
“We must always confront crimes such as murder and torture. It is vital for Kosovo that the rule of law and the judicial process are respected to maintain integrity and uncover the truth.”
The defense phase is expected to begin next, while this process remains one of the most important in post-war history for Kosovo and international justice.
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