{"id":12540,"date":"2026-02-17T23:00:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T23:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=12540"},"modified":"2026-02-17T23:00:02","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T23:00:02","slug":"thousands-in-kosovo-rally-against-war-crimes-trial-of-ex-kla-commanders-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=12540","title":{"rendered":"Thousands in Kosovo rally against war crimes trial of ex-KLA commanders | News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>Special court in The Hague hears closing arguments this week in the trial of former Kosovo Liberation Army leaders.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><button class=\"article-listen-container\" aria-labelledby=\"listen-text listen-duration\" data-testid=\"listen-to-article-button\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"article-listen-container__text\" data-testid=\"listen-to-article-text\">Listen to this article<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">\u00a0|\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"article-listen-container__duration\">3 mins<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/button><button tabindex=\"0\" class=\"tooltip-accessible_trigger\"><svg class=\"icon icon--info icon--main-grey-dark icon--16 listen-to-article-tooltip__icon\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"presentation\"><title>info<\/title><path class=\"icon-main-color\" d=\"M12 0a12 12 0 1 0 0 24 12 12 0 0 0 0-24Zm-.226 3.225a2.039 2.039 0 0 1 2.155 1.924v.193a1.998 1.998 0 0 1-2.155 2.149 2.029 2.029 0 0 1-2.146-2.15 2.039 2.039 0 0 1 1.955-2.122h.193l-.002.006Zm3.227 15.525a.75.75 0 0 1-.752.75H9.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.75h.748V12h-.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.751h3a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.752v6.75h.75a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.749L15 18.75Z\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"byline byline--single-avatar\">\n<div class=\"avatars-container\">\n<div class=\"responsive-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/2017-06-08T131939Z_1189275883_RC11B0FE7F20_RTRMADP_3_GULF-QATAR-JAZEERA-1714943623.jpg?resize=96%2C96&amp;quality=80 96w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 96px) 96px, 96px\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 17 Feb 2026<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">17 Feb 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Thousands of people have protested in Kosovo\u2019s capital against the trial of former Kosovo \u2060Liberation Army (KLA) leaders, including a former president, who are accused of war crimes during the 1998-1999 war for independence.<\/p>\n<p>Pristina\u2019s main square on Tuesday was filled with people protesting against The Hague-based Kosovo Specialist Chambers war crimes court as the country marked the 18th anniversary of its independence.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 4 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>The court in the Netherlands is hearing closing arguments this week in the trial of former President \u2060Hashim Thaci, former Speakers of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo Jakup Krasniqi and Kadri Veseli, and former lawmaker Rexhep Selimi. They were arrested in 2020.<\/p>\n<p>The former KLA commanders are charged with persecution, murder, torture and forced disappearances of people during and shortly after the 1998-1999 uprising, which eventually brought independence for the Albanian-majority region from Serbia.<\/p>\n<p>Thaci, 57, served as prime minister, foreign minister and president of independent Kosovo from 2008 to 2020.<\/p>\n<p>More than 13,000 \u2060people \u2013 the majority Kosovo Albanians \u2013 are estimated \u2060to have been killed during the conflict when Kosovo was still a province of Serbia under then-nationalist President Slobodan Milosevic, whose forces violently cracked down on ethnic Albanians.<\/p>\n<p>Judges are expected to deliver a final verdict within three months. The defendants have denied all the charges while prosecutors are seeking a sentence of 45 years for each defendant.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"iberation-war\">\u2018Liberation war\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Former KLA leaders are seen by many in Kosovo as national liberation heroes. Many protesters wore KLA uniforms. Others waved KLA, Kosovo and Albanian flags. Supporters held placards reading, \u201cFreedom has a name,\u201d and held photos of Thaci and others captioned \u201cHeroes of War and \u2060Peace\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The local news website Balkan Insight reported buses were organised from every municipality to transport people to Pristina.<\/p>\n<p>Ismajl Tasholli, one of the organisers, told the crowd: \u201cKLA\u2019s war remains a liberation war, and this cannot be undone. If justice deviates, we are here to tell them: \u2018Not in my name, not in our name,\u2019\u201d the website quoted him as saying.<\/p>\n<p>Miran Zeka, 49, who came from Albania to protest in Pristina, said, \u201cThose who deserve to be in The Hague are the occupiers, not the liberators.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Kosovo Specialist Chambers, staffed \u200cby international judges and lawyers, was set up in 2015 to handle war crimes cases under Kosovo law against ex-KLA fighters.<\/p>\n<p>The war crimes tribunal was set up \u200coutside \u200cthe small Balkan country because of worries about witness intimidation.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2145633\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2145633\" style=\"width:770px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-arc-image-770 wp-image-2145633\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/2020-11-09T150423Z_1094198680_RC2RZJ9TIWLO_RTRMADP_3_WARCRIMES-KOSOVO-THACI.jpg?w=770&amp;resize=770%2C465&amp;quality=80\" alt=\"Former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci, who resigned and was taken into custody of a war crimes tribunal, appears for the first time before the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague, Netherlands November 9, 2020. Jerry Lampen\/Pool via REUTERS\" fetchpriority=\"low\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2145633\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci resigned and was taken into custody in 2020 [File: Jerry Lampen\/Pool via Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Special court in The Hague hears closing arguments this week in the trial of former Kosovo Liberation Army leaders. Listen to this article\u00a0|\u00a03 mins info Published On 17 Feb 202617 Feb 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Thousands of people have protested in Kosovo\u2019s capital against the trial of former Kosovo [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12541,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12540"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12540\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}