Kosovo ex-president Hashim Thaci stands trial in The Hague

The Hague (Netherlands), Apr 3 (AP) The trial of Kosovo’s ex-president and three other former high-ranking members of the Kosovo Liberation Army charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity opens Monday.

Hashim Thaci resigned from office in 2020 to defend himself against charges including murder, torture and persecution allegedly committed during his country’s war for independence from Serbia.

The case has stirred an outpouring of support from across the political spectrum in Kosovo. On Sunday, thousands of people took to the streets to show their support for the defendants. Many Kosovars consider the Netherlands-based court an injustice and view it as an attempt to rewrite the history of their struggle for independence.

The trial is taking place at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, which is based in the Netherlands but is part of Kosovo’s legal system.

Thaci is standing trial along with Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi for offenses allegedly committed across Kosovo and northern Albania from 1998 to September 1999, during and after the war. They all have pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors allege that they are responsible for crimes committed by Kosovo Liberation Army guerillas against hundreds of civilians and other people who were not taking part in the fighting.

Most of the 13,000 people who died in the 1998-1999 war in Kosovo were ethnic Albanians. A 78-day campaign of NATO air strikes against Serbian forces ended the fighting. About 1 million ethnic Albanian Kosovars were driven from their homes.

The court in The Hague and a linked prosecutor’s office were created after a 2011 report by the Council of Europe, a human rights body, that included allegations that KLA fighters trafficked human organs taken from prisoners and killed Serbs and fellow ethnic Albanians. The organ harvesting allegations weren’t included in the indictment against Thaci.

The trial starts Monday with an opening statement by the prosecution and lawyers for victims. Opening statements by lawyers for Thaci and the other defendants are scheduled for Tuesday and the first witnesses are expected next week.

In 2008, Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia, a move that Belgrade refuses to recognize. The United States and most of the West recognize the declaration, but Serbia supported by allies Russia and China does not.

Kosovo-Serbia relations remain tense despite stepped-up efforts from Washington and the European Union, with a recent Western plan envisaging normalization of their relations. (AP)