FORMER KOSOVO PRESIDENT HASHIM THACI JAILED FOR 25 YEARS OVER WAR CRIMES

The Kosovo war crimes tribunal convicted former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci of war crimes on Wednesday and sentenced him to 25 years in prison. Judges found him guilty of offences including murder, torture and illegal detention, committed while he served as a top commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army during the territory's violent break from Serbia in the 1990s. One report said the conviction covered four separate counts of war crimes. The tribunal said Thaci was responsible for the murder of 96 political opponents and people perceived as collaborators with Serbian security forces, killed by Kosovo Liberation Army forces during the conflict.

Thaci was also convicted over the arbitrary illegal detention of 385 people, the torture of 303 people and the cruel treatment of around 50 others, according to the tribunal's findings. The Kosovo Liberation Army fought Serbian forces during the 1990s as Kosovo sought independence from Belgrade, a conflict in which Thaci held a senior command role. The charges relate to actions carried out against political opponents and those perceived to have aided Serbian security forces during that period. Thaci went on to serve as Kosovo's president before facing prosecution over his conduct during the war.

Thaci denies all the charges against him. He stood in silence, wearing a suit and tie, as Presiding Judge Charles Smith read out the sentence in court on Wednesday. The case forms part of the tribunal's wider examination of crimes committed during and after the Kosovo conflict of the 1990s. Further details of the case were still emerging following the sentencing hearing.