The start of the trial of the former president of Kosovo for war crimes, “an important step towards justice”

“The fact that it has taken more than 10 years to bring anyone suspected of criminal responsibility to justice has allowed a culture of impunity for war crimes committed during the Kosovo war to persist. This trial sends a clear message that senior officials are not above the law.”

Additional information

Upon confirmation of the indictment against him in 2020, President Thaçi resigned from his post with immediate effect.

Among the charges brought against him were those of war crimes and crimes against humanityincluding the criminal liability of almost a hundreds of murders of victims belonging to the Serbian and Roma ethnic groupsas well as people of ethnic Albanoko sleepsincluding political opponents.

The Kosovo Specialized Chambers of Justice and the Special Prosecutor’s Office were created in 2015, following a report by an EU working group pointing to compelling evidence of systemic war crimes committed by senior Kosovo Liberation Army commanders, including a “persecution campaign” against Serbs, Roma and Kosovar Albanians during the armed conflict of 1998-1999 and immediately after him.