Kosovo awaits verdict on former KLA leaders

A court in The Hague is expected to deliver its verdict in the war crimes trial of four former Kosovo Liberation Army leaders.

Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi are accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity during and after the 1998-99 Kosovo war.

They have been in detention in The Hague since 2020.

Prosecutors say the former KLA leaders were part of a command structure that used intimidation, abuse and violence against political opponents and ethnic minorities.

The defence rejects the charges.

It says the KLA was not a centralised army and that the accused did not control actions on the ground.

The case is one of the most important trials linked to Kosovo’s war.

The verdict is being closely watched in Kosovo, where the KLA is still widely seen as the force that fought for independence from Serbia.