Former Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi waged a bloody campaign against his political opponents during the 1998-1999 war of independence, resulting in more than 100 murders, the prosecution said on Monday (April 3) during the start of his war crimes trial.
Gray suit and blue tie, Hashim Thaçi again pleaded not guilty this Monday at the opening of his trial, as in his first appearance before the special court in The Hague in 2020. I am absolutely not guilty “said the former president. His co-defendants, one of his closest political allies, Kadri Veseli, the former spokesman of the Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK), Jakup Krasniqi, as well as one of the leading figures of the KLA , Rexhep Selimi, have all also claimed their innocence. All face six counts of crimes against humanity and four counts of war crimes, including murder, torture, enforced disappearances, persecution and cruel treatment committed during the 1998 and 1999 war between separatist guerrillas in Belgrade.
Still regarded in Kosovo as guerrilla heroes, the former president and his co-defendants allegedly openly imposed a brutal reign of imprisonment, torture and murder to tighten their grip on power during and after the war. ” Why did they do this? Evidence will show it was to gain power Prosecutor Alex Whiting told the EU-funded Special Court for Kosovo (KSC). ” We intend to prove hundreds of detentions across Kosovo, usually in conditions of terrible abuse, and over 100 murders “, he said.
► Read also: The trial of the former president of Kosovo Hashim Thaçi opens in The Hague
The Kosovo war claimed 13,000 lives, mostly Kosovar Albanians. It ended when a campaign of NATO air strikes in the spring of 1999 forced the Serbian forces to withdraw. Hashim Thaçi was the first prime minister and president of the young nation, which declared its independence in 2008. But allegations of crimes committed during and after the war stick to his skin, as do accusations of corruption, in a country where KLA commanders retained a key role in public life. ” These four men were without a doubt the main leaders of the KLA and they were celebrated and honored for it “said the prosecutor. ” But there was a darker side to their leadership “, he added.
“ Intimidating climate »
They had a ” clear and explicit policy to target collaborators and those they saw as traitors continued Alex Whiting. Besides the ethnic Serbs and Roma who lost their lives, most of the victims were fellow Kosovo Albanians. ” In their zeal to target and eliminate people they saw as opponents “, the accused “ also persecuted their own “, he said again.
Master Simon Laws, victims’ lawyer, then took the floor to recall the torture suffered in detention: torn nails, paraffin burns. ” The day they were targeted by the KLA, their lives changed forever “, said the lawyer, who represents 140 victims, including ” many continue to be afraid “. Created in 2015, the KSC is a Kosovar law body, highly secure and composed of international judges to protect witnesses. The prosecution nevertheless denounces a ” climate of witness intimidation around this trial, with some facing threats.
Me Simon Laws also said he was speaking on behalf of the silent majority, the one in Kosovo who expects justice and trusts this tribunal. Formed at the request of the European Union, this tribunal is much criticized in Kosovo, recalls our correspondent in The Hague, Stephanie Maupas. Supporters of the UCK accuse him in particular of wanting to rewrite history. And not to be interested in the crimes committed by the Serbs. They were in fact tried by the Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
Now it’s time for defense lawyers. Then, the prosecutor will be able to call the first of his 300 witnesses to the bar.
(And with AFP)