The grand trial is about to enter its most important phase, where the verdict for Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi is expected to be pronounced in the spring.
This is expected to be a decisive year for the KLA four, who have been in custody in The Hague for five years now.
The Hague Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia researcher, Nevenka Tromp, speaks about the importance of the decision against Thaçi, Veseli, Selim and Krasniqi, while criticizing the Special Investigation Team for its work over the years.
According to her, it is difficult to know what the epilogue will be, however, she mentions the major consequences that the state would face if the Special Court were to uphold the prosecution's charges.
The Special Court has so far indicted six people for alleged war crimes: Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi, Rexhep Selimi, Pjetër Shala and Salih Mustafa. Shala has been sentenced to 13 years in prison, while Mustafa has been sentenced to 15 years.
Nevenka Tromp
Nevenka Tromp, who worked for many years at the Hague Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, in an interview with KosovaPress talks about the main developments during 2025 - a year that also marked the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the Special Court.
"There are six defendants who were charged with alleged crimes during the period that this court had a mandate. It was mainly the period 1998-1999 to 2000. One case, the Salih Mustafa case, has been fully concluded. The Shala case is in the process of being finalized. But the most important one, the Thaçi et al. case involving four senior leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army, has not yet been finalized. These people have been in court in The Hague since 2020. The case is expected to be completed sometime in 2026, but only the first instance. So, the first important assessment of the efficiency of this court is that it has not been very efficient. There are only six defendants. Of these six, for the four main people, we still do not even have a first instance decision, let alone a final one," she states.
Throughout this process, the Special has been continuously criticized for numerous edits and closures to the public.
The Ombudsman of Kosovo, Naim Qelaj, has also expressed concerns about the work of the Special Court. Qelaj has raised his doubts about whether the principles of fair and impartial trial are being respected in the Special Court.
Tromp also speaks on this issue, mentioning cases where defendants have not been allowed to be temporarily released, considering it "strict treatment by the court towards the defendants."
“None of the four defendants in the Thaçi and others case were allowed to be temporarily released, not even on humanitarian leave as it is called. Humanitarian leave is when a defendant who is in criminal proceedings and the court is allowed to visit his family members in trouble, especially sick parents or funerals of close family members. So, there has been quite strict treatment by the court towards the defendants. And so, this humanitarian leave seems quite appropriate for people at the leadership level. These four defendants had, and I am speaking clearly about Hashim Thaçi, his refusal to participate in some very important family cases. So, this humanitarian leave is also part of what we call a fair trial, that every person who is tried criminally is not guilty until proven beyond a reasonable doubt. And they were not treated with this deserved compassion because the prosecution could always use the argument that they are a risk to the process and the fairness of the trial because of their ability to intimidate witnesses. This narrative of intimidation of "The right to witnesses prevailed over all other components that an accused person under modern human rights law should enjoy. One of these concerns when and under what circumstances he would be allowed to be released from prison while awaiting the verdict," Tromp told KosovaPress.
The Specialist Chambers are part of the Kosovo judicial system but operate with international staff in The Hague, Netherlands.
The European Union is the main funder of the Specialist Court, which was established in 2015 by the Kosovo Assembly, following the request of the international community.
Great concern has also been raised about the Special Court's acceptance of documents from Serbian authorities as material evidence.
Lecturer at the University of Amsterdam, Nevenka Tromp, states that Serbia is not a neutral party in this process and that the Prosecution should be careful about this.
“Another important issue is the treatment and access to evidence in court, which mainly came from the Serbian state archives. This is an interesting approach by the prosecution, because Serbia is not a neutral party in these processes and the prosecution had to be very careful in relying on evidence coming from the Serbian state archives, including the state security archives, the police archives, the Ministry of Interior and the military archives. These were the issues that greatly influenced the way the prosecution approached this trial. But until we have the first decision, we cannot say how it unfolded. If all four defendants were to be acquitted, then these procedural issues would be quickly forgotten. If any of the four defendants were found guilty based on the evidence submitted by Serbia, they would be under review, but we hope that then we will also have an appeal to see the final decision,” she says.
Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi are facing charges brought by the Specialized Prosecutor's Office, which they have described as unfounded. The defense has also rejected these charges and argued that the KLA did not have an organized command structure.
Over the past year in Pristina, The Hague, Tirana, Strasbourg and Skopje, thousands of Albanians protested with the slogan "Justice for the Liberators".
Former Kosovo Liberation Army leaders Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi have been in custody in The Hague since November 2020. Their trial began on April 3, 2023 - almost three years after the indictment was confirmed, since when the former KLA leaders have been held in the detention center in The Hague./KosovaPress
