Dua Lipa and Rita Ora show support for former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army

[TaylorSwift 163,827]

The Kosovo war crimes tribunal in The Hague on Wednesday found four former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) guilty of war crimes committed during the 1998–99 Kosovo war.

Former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and former KLA leaders Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi were sentenced at first instance by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers to a combined 81 years in prison: Thaci and Krasniqi to 25 years each, Veseli to 18 and Selimi to 13 years.

The four men were convicted of the arbitrary detention of 385 people, cruel treatment of 49 people, torture of 303 people and the murder of 96 people.

They were acquitted of the charges of crimes against humanity on the grounds that it had not been proven that there had been a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population.

The announcement of the verdict was greeted with shock and profound disappointment in Pristina.

Thousands of citizens had gathered in the main square of Kosovo's capital, many waving flags of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), to follow the announcement live on large screens. Similar gatherings took place across the country in Kosovo's main cities. When it became clear that the Kosovo war crimes tribunal in The Hague had found former President Hashim Thaci guilty of war crimes the crowd fell silent. The silence was followed by calls for justice and chants of support for the four men.x x x

https://www.reuters.com/world/kosovo-ex-president-thaci-faces-war-crimes-verdict-hague-2026-09-16/

[27monster27 16,088]

This is gross. Two wrongs don't make a right. Yugoslavia genocided people in Kosovo and aided the genocide in Bosnia, yes, but that doesn't make KLA war crimes okay either. Albania and Kosovo are setting examples that being proud of your country should not lead to excusing war crimes, and that should be respected.