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Kosovo president Hashim Thaçi indicted on war crimes charges Kosovo president Hashim Thaçi indicted on war crimes charges
(about 1 hour later)
Court examining crimes during 1998-99 war also charges nine other former separatist fightersCourt examining crimes during 1998-99 war also charges nine other former separatist fighters
A court investigating crimes against ethnic Serbs during and after Kosovo‘s 1998-99 independence war with Serbia have indicted its president and nine other former separatist fighters on a range of charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder. Kosovo’s president Hashim Thaçi has been indicted for crimes against humanity and war crimes, by a prosecutor investigating crimes committed during Kosovo‘s 1998-99 independence war with Serbia.
A statement from a prosecutor of the Kosovo specialist chambers, issued on Wednesday, said Hashim Thaçi and the others suspects were “criminally responsible for nearly 100 murders”. The charges were made public as Thaçi was en route to Washington DC ahead of a White House meeting with Serbia’s president set for Saturday and brokered by Richard Grenell, Donald Trump’s Balkan peace envoy. Trump hoped to broker a deal between the two countries, which have not normalised relations since Kosovo broke away from Serbia following a Nato bombing campaign, and declared independence.
Other charges include enforced disappearance, persecution and torture. In a statement, the prosecutor’s office at the Hague-based court said charges had been filed in April against Thaçi and nine other former commanders in the Kosovo Liberation Army, which fought a guerrilla campaign against Serb forces before the Nato intervention. The court was set up to investigate allegations of crimes committed by the Kosovo Albanian side during the war.
More than 10,000 people were killed during the independence war and 1,641 are still unaccounted for. The conflict ended after a 78-day Nato air campaign. The group are charged “with a range of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, enforced disappearance of persons, persecution, and torture”. It said the group were “criminally responsible for nearly 100 murders”, and noted that the victims included Serbs, Kosovo Albanians and other ethnicities and included political opponents.
Serbia does not recognise Kosovo‘s 2008 declaration of independence. The statement makes it clear that the indictment had not yet been proven, and also notes that the pre-trial judge had not yet made a ruling on confirming the charges. However, the prosecutor said it was taking the unusual step of making the charges public before this point “because of repeated efforts by Hashim Thaçi and Kadri Veseli to obstruct and undermine the work of [the court]”.
More details soon … It accused the pair of carrying out a “secret campaign” to overturn the law setting up the court in an attempt to obstruct its work and evade trial. “By taking these actions, Mr Thaçi and Mr Veseli have put their personal interests ahead of the victims of their crimes, the rule of law, and all people of Kosovo,” said the statement.
Thaçi has not yet commented on the charges, and a spokesman confirmed that the Kosovo president was en route to Washington at the time they were made public. He is due to meet Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić at the White House, on talks aimed at making a breakthrough in the long-running dispute between the two countries.