Thaçi, Veseli, Selimi and Krasniqi denied the charges, said they fought for survival and freedom

The trial at the Special Court in The Hague against former Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi, former parliamentarians Kadri Veseli and Jakup Krasniqi, and former MP Rexhep Selimi has lasted for nearly three years. In the last session, the four pleaded not guilty in their closing statements. Their defense has requested their release, while the Prosecution has requested that they be found guilty and sentenced to 45 years in prison each. The judges have three months to reach a decision on the case.

Only the words of the Special Court judges remain before the epilogue is given to the biggest case being handled at the court based in The Hague. In the process against the former KLA leaders, former President Hashim Thaçi, former parliamentarians Kadri Veseli and Jakup Krasniqi and former MP Rexhep Selimi presented their final statements on Wednesday. They conveyed the message that they fought for freedom and that justice should be based on the truth, not on the narratives of their opponents and the Prosecution.

Thaçi told the jury that his only enemy was the butcher of the Balkans.

"My only opponent and the only opponent of the democratic world was Slobodan Milosevic," he declared. 

He said that during the war he could not even dream of extending power to all of Kosovo as the prosecution claims, which has charged four members of the General Staff with responsibility for the crimes alleged by KLA members.

"The fact that we are alive was a coincidence and luck. I returned to my homeland to risk my life for freedom. What control are we talking about? Who? Control and power were in the iron hands of Slobodan Milosevic. No one else's. Albanians did not exercise power. They were oppressed by the power of Slobodan Milosevic. Our mission as a people was clear: survival, freedom and peace," Thaçi said. 

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Like Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli also said that he returned from exile in Kosovo. He said that he made the decision to do so while he was studying at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland, when the first massacres took place, in Likoshan and Prekaz. Veseli expressed confidence that the jury will make the right decision.

"The creation of this court and its functioning to date is a result of a broad debate in my country, but above all what should prevail from it is justice and impartiality in judging the truth and the objective reality on which we have acted. I stand in this process with conviction and faith that the truth has no reason to fear justice and that justice can be delayed, but never denied," said Veseli. 

And, during his speech, Rexhep Selimi referred to the prosecution's claims on several occasions. He judged them to be unfounded and said that the prosecution aims to punish the KLA General Staff.

"Although, the prosecution, from the beginning of its closing argument, stated that it did not seek the punishment of the KLA General Staff, throughout the time it had at its disposal, its target was precisely the KLA General Staff, the Liberation Army, and in particular its goal, which was the independence of Kosovo. The impression was even created that independence itself was being treated as a common criminal goal," Selimi said. 

Jakup Krasniqi also said that the accusations against the former leaders of the KLA General Staff are similar to the narratives of those who oppressed Albanians.

"I do not believe that this accusation serves any justice, especially not the justice that democratic societies claim to achieve. Justice cannot be built on the language of former oppressors. It must rest on credible evidence and the truth. The injustice of this case itself is written in the indictment itself," said Krasniqi. 

Before the final arguments of the four former KLA representatives, their lawyers spoke at the Special Court. All of them requested an acquittal from the court, and Veseli's lawyer called the Prosecution's evidence rubbish.

The release of the four former KLA representatives was requested by their lawyers in their final arguments before the trial panel in The Hague. 

Rodney Dixon, who defends former Speaker of Parliament Kadri Veseli, stressed that the testimonies of some of the witnesses have not been presented in court and are filled with rumors. 
"There are 15 pages where we have shown how the evidence based on hearsay is simply a pile of garbage that does not prove at all that Mr. Veseli was involved in an activity, let alone that he was physically present when something happened," said Dixon. 

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And lawyer Luka Misetic, who defends former president Hashim Thaçi, said that if there was concrete evidence, the prosecution would cite it before the court and not just provide references to the evidence.

"What connection did Thaçi have with the communiqués? We still don't know what connection there is between these two... Which of them contributed to the crimes in the indictment. To this day we don't know the answer to this question. Instead of giving us an answer, the prosecution gave us some citations of the numbers of the material evidence and the prosecution didn't do this because it didn't have time, but it was intentional," said Mishetić. 

Former MP Rexhep Selimi's lawyer, Geoffrey Roberts, stressed that even the prosecution does not believe in her case.

"The prosecution's inability to distinguish between allegations and evidence is as disturbing at this stage of the trial as it is surprising. Even the inability to raise other points regarding the Joint Criminal Enterprise highlights the lack of clarity and confidence that the prosecution itself has in its own arguments," Selimi declared. 

And the lawyer of former Speaker of Parliament Jakup Krasniqi, Aidan Ellis, accused the Prosecution of distorting the testimonies of witnesses it itself proposed.

"The prosecution chose excerpts that fit its theory while completely disregarding oral explanations, as well as uncontested exculpatory evidence from the prosecution's own witnesses. This is not analysis, this is distortion. The trial panel should not be guided by the preference for selected written excerpts and disregard the evidence given under oath before the trial panel," Ellis said. 

Chief Justice Charles Smith III has declared the case closed following closing statements by Thaçi, Veseli, Krasniqi and Selimi. The judge said he will be in touch with the parties in the coming months regarding the date of the announcement and review of the verdict in this case. The judges have three months to reach a decision on the case, or request an extension of the deadline for reaching a decision.

The SPO charges former President Hashim Thaçi, former Speakers of Parliament Kadri Veseli and Jakup Krasniqi, and former head of the Vetëvendosje Movement parliamentary group Rexhep Selimi with a joint criminal enterprise involving six counts of war crimes: Persecution (Count 1), Imprisonment (Count 2), Other inhumane acts (Count 4), Torture (Count 6), Unlawful killing (Count 8), Enforced disappearance (Count 10), as well as four counts of crimes against humanity, including unlawful or arbitrary arrest and detention (Count 3), Cruel treatment (Count 5), Torture (Count 7), and Unlawful killing (Count 9). Most of the victims of the crimes, according to the SPO, are Albanians, civilians, and members of the Democratic League of Kosovo.

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According to the ZPS, the accused were aware or should have been aware because of the leadership positions in the General Staff, related to the allegations about the crimes that were committed and had the intention of taking power in Kosovo through them. The former heads of the KLA General Staff have denied all these accusations. They said that the KLA did not have such a hierarchy, since the area commanders had the weight and that it was intended to fight Serbia and not the civilians.

The former KLA leaders were arrested on November 4 and 5, 2020. The Specialist Chambers began the trial against them two and a half years late, namely in April 2023.