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Trial of former KLA leaders in the "last mile", closing statements today

2026-02-09 08:29:41Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Hashim Thaci

Today marks the start of the final phase of one of the most important and most closely watched court trials since the end of the war in Kosovo. At the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague, from 09:00, closing statements will begin in the trial of former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA): Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi.

This trial, which has dragged on for years, has now entered the “last mile.” After the closing statements by all parties, the panel will retire to make the final decision on the charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity against the accused. Hashim Thaçi, former president of Kosovo, Kadri Veseli and Jakup Krasniqi, former parliamentarians, and Rexhep Selimi, former deputy, have pleaded not guilty to all counts of the indictment.

According to the Specialized Prosecution, they are accused of war crimes, including unlawful or arbitrary detention, cruel treatment, torture and unlawful killings, as well as crimes against humanity, such as imprisonment, inhumane acts, enforced disappearances and persecutions. These crimes are alleged to have been committed during the period March 1998 – September 1999, in several locations in Kosovo and northern Albania.

In the coming days and weeks, closing statements will also be made by the Specialist Prosecutor's Office, the Victims' Advocate and the defendants' defense teams. The four former KLA commanders have been in custody in The Hague since November 2020.

The path to this stage

The indictment against the four was confirmed on 26 October 2020 and made public on 5 November of the same year, the day the accused were transferred to the detention centre in The Hague. This was followed by a preliminary phase, which included numerous status conferences and the exchange of evidence and materials between the parties.

The trial proper began on April 3, 2023. Opening statements were held for three consecutive days. The prosecution and the Victims’ Advocate argued that the defendants were part of what they called a “joint criminal enterprise,” which, they said, was intended to target perceived opponents of the KLA, including Kosovo Albanians.

Specialist Prosecutor Alex Whiting stated at the opening of the trial that “the majority of the victims were fellow Kosovo Albanians”, adding that the defendants, according to the Prosecution, had implemented a policy that often harmed their own people. On the other hand, the defense teams, in their opening statements on 4 and 5 April 2023, rejected these claims, emphasizing that the KLA did not have a centralized command and that there could be no talk of a joint criminal enterprise.

At this stage, Hashim Thaçi himself also made a statement, stressing that during this process it was proven that there was no organ trafficking and that the so-called “Yellow House” did not exist. He said that the 2011 Council of Europe report, based on the claims of former Swiss senator Dick Marty, had cast a “black cloud” over Kosovo, which, according to him, has now been removed.

From April 2023 to December 2025, numerous pieces of evidence were presented in the courtroom and dozens of witnesses were heard. In this case, about 155 participating victims were registered. The prosecution called 125 witnesses to testify directly, while 117 others gave written testimony. One of the most commented testimonies was that of Fadil Geci, who in October 2024 declared in The Hague that Hashim Thaçi, according to him, had intended to exterminate his family, a statement that was strongly opposed by the defense.

With the start of closing statements, attention is now focused on the parties' final arguments.


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