The trial of the former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) is in the final stages, and there are only a few steps left until the verdict of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague on the charges against them for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Former Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi, former parliamentarians Kadri Veseli and Jakup Krasniqi, and former MP Rexhep Selimi have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
They are accused of criminal acts that constitute war crimes: unlawful or arbitrary detention, cruel treatment, torture and unlawful killings, and crimes against humanity: imprisonment, other inhumane acts, enforced disappearance of persons and persecution.
The crimes are alleged to have been committed between March 1998 and September of the following year in several locations in Kosovo and northern Albania.
At the beginning of next week, closing statements by the Specialized Prosecutor's Office, the Victims' Advocate, and the defense teams of the former KLA superiors, who have been in the detention center of what is known as the Special Court in the Netherlands since November 2020, are expected to begin.
What has happened so far?
The indictment for war crimes and crimes against humanity against the KLA four was confirmed on October 26, 2020. Upon being made public, on November 5 of that same year, the defendants were sent to the detention center in The Hague.
Then the preliminary proceedings began, when a series of status conferences were held, and various materials and evidence were presented. The trial did not begin until April 3, 2023.
For three consecutive days, the parties delivered their opening statements. First, the prosecutors and the victims' defense attorneys.
Specialist prosecutors announced they would present evidence that the defendants were members of what they called a “joint criminal enterprise” that allegedly targeted perceived opponents of the KLA. In opening statements, they said it had waged a “special war” against those it considered “collaborators” and “traitors.”
In his opening statement at the start of the trial, the specialist prosecutor, Alex Whiting, stated that "the majority of the defendants' victims were fellow Kosovo Albanians."
"In their zeal to target and eliminate those they considered opponents, the defendants supported and implemented a policy that often victimized their own people," Whiting said.
Meanwhile, through their opening statements, for two consecutive days, starting on April 4, 2023, the defense teams argued that the KLA did not have a fixed command, rejecting the accusation that they were part of a "joint criminal enterprise", as alleged by the Prosecution.
At the April 4 session, Thaçi himself also made a statement. He said that it has been proven that the KLA did not commit the crime of organ trafficking, an accusation that was made by former Swiss senator Dick Marty, which was concretized in a Council of Europe report in 2011. It was this report that served as the starting point for the creation of the Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor's Office of Kosovo, based in The Hague.
"The world now knows today, as a result of this process, that there was no organ trafficking and that the Yellow House never existed. Now we know that I, the KLA, the people of Kosovo and all Albanians, have been acquitted of these charges. The truth has been told, and the black cloud over Kosovo has been lifted. So, this sacrifice has been worth it," said Thaçi.
From April 2023 to December 2025, the parties presented evidence and called witnesses to the courtroom.
In the case against the KLA four, it is estimated that there are 155 participating victims. The Specialized Prosecutor's Office invited 125 witnesses to the courtroom, while 117 others submitted their written testimonies.
One of the Prosecution's witnesses was Fadil Geci, who in October 2024 testified in The Hague that "Thaci thought of exterminating us."
"This is the truth... with the whole family, his goal was to exterminate us," Geci said.
In April 2025, the Specialized Prosecution Office concluded the witness presentation phase, and later that month, it concluded the presentation of evidence, presenting thousands of pieces of material evidence that it said supported its allegations.
Two victims were called to the courtroom by the victims' attorneys, while seven witnesses were invited by the defense teams.
Defense witnesses
In September, the defense teams of Thaçi and Krasniqi began calling witnesses and presenting their evidence. Veseli's and Krasniqi's teams chose not to present evidence or call witnesses.
The first to appear before the court was James Rubin, a former US assistant secretary of state, who testified in Thaçi's defense for three days in September 2025. He said that the former president of Kosovo had a primarily political role in the KLA, and had no authority to make military decisions, adding that for any important decision he had to obtain the approval of the area commanders. Rubin testified that he had no information linking Thaçi and Krasniqi to the murder allegations.
Also appearing in court was Christopher Hill, a retired American diplomat who had been Washington's envoy during the Kosovo war. He also agreed that Thaçi was not responsible for the KLA, stressing that he had no information that Thaçi had ordered illegal activities.
Former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO forces, Wesley Cark, was the last witness in Thaçi's defense. For two days in a row, in November 2025, he testified about the role of the KLA and Thaçi. According to the retired American general, Thaçi is not responsible for the acts of violence in Kosovo.
The leading figure in NATO's campaign against Serbian targets testified that the KLA had no functional chain of command, nor a complete hierarchy, and if there had been such a thing, according to him, it would have been impossible for the US and NATO not to have been aware.
He told the jury that the KLA was not terrorist and that its members fought for their freedom.
Closing statements
With the conclusion of the defense witnesses' testimonies, the trial moved to the next phase: Submission of final files by the parties, by the end of January.
Meanwhile, from February 9 to 18, the parties will deliver their closing statements.
Initially, it will be the turn of the Prosecution, the victims' defense teams, and then from February 11th it will be the turn of the defendants' defense teams.
The case before the jury
After the closing statements, the case goes to the jury. The judges have three months to reach a decision on the case and announce it.
The Court in The Hague has previously indicated that judges may request an extension of the deadline for making a decision for another two months, and in exceptional cases even longer.
As this trial draws to a close, Thaçi is expected to still have work to do with the Specialist Chambers, as his trial is expected to begin soon in a separate case against the administration of justice.
The Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor's Office were established in 2015 by the Assembly of Kosovo, and are part of the Kosovo judicial system, but operate with international staff in the Netherlands.
The Special Court investigates alleged crimes committed by KLA members against ethnic minorities and political rivals from January 1998 to December 2000. /REL
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