Prosecutor in The Case Against Hashim Thaci: No One is Above The Law, Even in Wartime

A prosecutor at the Special Court for Kosovo in The Hague said that “no one is above the law,” the Associated Press reported.

Prosecutor Alex Whiting’s words come after the opening of the trial today of the former president of Kosovo and leader of the disbanded Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), Hashim Thaci, the accused Thaci pleaded not guilty to all ten charges against him.

The four former AOK leaders Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veseli, Recep Selimi and Yakup Krasnici were remanded in custody in November 2020 following the confirmation of the indictment for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. They pleaded not guilty when they appeared in court at the preliminary hearing.

“I understand the charge and I am completely innocent,” Thaci told judges shortly after the trial began, Reuters reported.

Prosecutor Alex Whiting said the KLA, which fought with Serbia’s powerful troops, had “a very clear and explicit policy of targeting collaborators and individuals perceived as traitors, including political opponents”.

He added that prosecutors could prove that the KLA was responsible for hundreds of killings and illegal detentions on the territory of Kosovo and northern Albania in 1998-1999, and that the four defendants were guilty of these crimes as leaders of the KLA General Staff .

Regarding the case, Whiting said it was about basic principles of protection.

“This case is about protecting the rule of law in times of war, when the rule of law is most in danger (…) No one is above the law even in wartime,” Whiting added.

Lawyers representing Thaci and the other defendants are expected to make opening statements tomorrow. The first witnesses in the case will be heard next week, writes AP.

Thaci and the other three leaders of the disbanded KLA were indicted for war crimes, crimes against humanity, specifically persecution, illegal detention, torture, murder, ill-treatment from March 1998 to September 1999. The 1998 Kosovo unrest- 1999 led to the declaration of Kosovo’s independence from Serbia in 2008, and it is believed that the majority of those who died in that period, more than 13 thousand people, were ethnic Albanians, writes Reuters.

The specialized court in The Hague was established in 2015 to deal with serious crimes committed in the period 1998-2000 in Kosovo. Its creation was prompted by a Council of Europe report published on 7 January 2011, which alleged that members of the Kosovo Liberation Army were involved in drug trafficking, kidnapping and murder, as well as trafficking in human organs , broadcasts BTA.

Source: 24Chasa