Former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.
He was found guilty of war crimes committed during Kosovo’s 1998-99 conflict with Serbia.
The Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague convicted Thaci of murder, torture and illegal detention.
These crimes were linked to crimes against people accused of opposing the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), which he once commanded.
Prosecutors said KLA forces killed 96 people, while 385 were illegally detained and 303 tortured.
Judge Charles Smith said the plan involved creating detention facilities, targeting perceived opponents and, when necessary, killing them.
Thaci denied the allegations and can appeal. The verdict has stirred strong emotions in Kosovo.
Hundreds of supporters gathered in Pristina, while others demonstrated in The Hague.
Wartime Legacy Divides Kosovo
The tribunal remains deeply unpopular among many Kosovo Albanians.
They regard Thaci as a key figure in the territory’s independence struggle. Prosecutors had sought a 45-year sentence.
But judges dismissed six crimes-against-humanity charges, saying prosecutors had not established the required widespread or systematic attacks.
The tribunal was created in 2015 to prosecute alleged crimes by former KLA members.
With tensions still surrounding Kosovo’s wartime legacy, the verdict raises a difficult question.
Can a country honour its wartime heroes while also confronting allegations from that same war?
