Law & Justice
Hashim Thaci sentenced to 25 years for war crimes
Kosovo's former president Hashim Thaci has been sentenced to 25 years in prison by a Hague tribunal for war crimes, after judges found him guilty over illegal arrests, torture, murder and cruel treatment committed by Kosovo Liberation Army guerrillas during Kosovo's 1998-99 war for independence from Serbia.
Thaci, a former Kosovo Liberation Army leader, denied the charges. He and three other former guerrilla leaders went on trial in April 2023. Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti called the ruling against Thaci and the other former guerrilla leaders “an unacceptable injustice” and “a great and harmful punishment”. Prosecutors had sought a 45-year prison sentence for Thaci in early 2026.
Other leading figures from the wars in the former Yugoslavia also faced Hague proceedings. Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic, who died on August 27, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2017 for genocide and war crimes over the siege of Sarajevo, the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys and other crimes. His conviction was upheld in 2021.
Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic was convicted in 2016 over the Srebrenica genocide and other charges, and his 40-year sentence was later increased to life. Former Serbian president and Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic died in his Hague cell in 2006 while on trial on 66 counts including genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Serb politician Vojislav Seselj was found guilty on appeal in 2018 of crimes against humanity and sentenced to 10 years, but remains free because he had already spent almost 12 years in detention. Croatian general Ante Gotovina was convicted in 2011 of crimes against humanity and war crimes, then acquitted on appeal. Serbian paramilitary leader Zeljko “Arkan” Raznatovic was indicted in 1997 and was shot dead in Belgrade in 2000.
Bosnian Croat commander Slobodan Praljak killed himself in court in 2017 after judges upheld his 20-year sentence. Naser Oric, a former commander of Bosnian forces in Srebrenica, was acquitted of war crimes charges by an international court in 2008 and by Bosnian courts in 2017 and 2018.
Update
Kosovo's former president Hashim Thaci was sentenced to 25 years by a Hague tribunal for war crimes.
A judge ruled Thaci guilty of illegal arrests, torture, murder and cruel treatment committed by Kosovo Liberation Army guerrillas.
Thaci denied the charges, and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti called the ruling against him and three other former guerrilla leaders an injustice.
The item summarises the later outcomes of several leading figures from the wars in the former Yugoslavia.
Source note: AFP news report published on 16 September 2026 at 13:20:50 UTC.
Update
Thousands gathered in Belgrade for Ratko Mladic's funeral.
An EU spokesman said glorification of war criminals, genocide denial and revisionism have no place in the EU or EU candidate countries.
Source note: AFP news report published on 7 September 2026 at 10:46:26 UTC.
Update
The EU said there was no place for the glorification of war criminals as Mladic was buried.
The source indicates Ratko Mladic's burial was taking place, after the candidate said he was due to be buried on September 7.
Source note: AFP news report published on 7 September 2026 at 10:37:51 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The individual verdicts or sentences for the three other former Kosovo Liberation Army leaders are not specified.
Milosevic died while on trial, so the supplied information does not describe a verdict in his case.
Source
AFP news report published on .