KLA leaders convicted by Specialist Court in The Hague

Denisa Kostovicova, a professor at the London School of Economics, has stated that war crimes trials are insufficient for a society to fully confront its past. Her comments follow the first-instance verdict by the Specialist Court in The Hague against four former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).

Former Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi, along with Jakup Krasniqi, Kadri Veseli, and Rexhep Selimi, were convicted of unlawful detention, cruel treatment, torture, and murder. The court found that these crimes occurred between April 1998 and June 1999, noting that 96 individuals who were subjected to torture were killed. The victims included Albanians perceived as KLA opponents, individuals suspected of cooperating with Serbian authorities, Serbs, and Roma.

Following the verdict, thousands of citizens protested in support of the convicted leaders. Kostovicova noted that shifting global policies have weakened the principle of human rights as a priority and compared the public support for the KLA leaders to the reactions seen during the funeral of Ratko Mladić in Belgrade.