"Freedom for the liberators" was demanded in Tirana

Thousands of people took part in a protest in Tirana on Friday to protest the ongoing trial of KLA leaders in The Hague. Representatives of wartime organizations and other speakers said the trial in The Hague was unfair and biased. The indictment against Thaçi, Veseli, Krasniqi and Selimi includes charges of unlawful detention, torture, murder, crimes against humanity, enforced disappearance and persecution of hundreds of civilians between March 1998 and September 1999. The defendants have pleaded not guilty. The Special Court expects the trial to conclude by the end of December.

With the call "Freedom for the liberators", thousands of citizens protested on Friday in "Skënderbej" Square in Tirana against the judicial process in The Hague, where the four leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army, Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi, are accused.

Hysni Gucati, president of the Kosovo Liberation Army War Veterans Organization, said in his opening speech that the protest was organized with the demand for justice.  

"We are here to defend the holy war of the KLA, to defend the honor of our liberators. History has proven that the KLA was a liberation army," Gucati said.

According to Gucat, the "unjust courts" are trying to equate the victim with the executioner and tarnish the commanders' holy war.

"We will not allow the name of our holy commanders to be desecrated. This protest has nothing to do with politics. This is a protest of the Albanian people. We are not asking for mercy, but justice. Tirana is today the capital of all Albanians. Kosovo fought for liberation, we were not criminals. The Special Court has lost all trust of the Albanians. The trials in The Hague are one-sided and unfair. Freedom for our liberators," Gucati declared.

One of the founders of the KLA, Ali Ahmeti, has called for unity among Albanians in defense of the values ​​of war and the Kosovo Liberation Army, emphasizing that Kosovo's freedom should not be turned into an arena for individual and party politics.

"May we always be like this, Tirana, Pristina and Skopje. We are raising our voices for justice, for respect, for our just struggle, for freedom, democracy, independence and friendship with the US and Europe," Ahmeti said during the "Justice for the Liberators" rally that was organized in Tirana on Friday.

He emphasized that the origins of the creation of the Special Court are related to Russian-Serbian reports of organ trafficking, which, according to him, were untrue and were rejected by the Hague Tribunal.

"Dick Marty re-updated this topic at the behest of Russia and Serbia and initiated the report to the Council of Europe, which then forced the establishment of the Special Court. This court was created by Kosovo itself to prevent Serbia from establishing it through Russia," Ahmeti stressed.

He added that, after the charges of organ trafficking were dropped, the prosecution changed direction by filing new indictments, on the day when, according to him, the agreement on mutual recognition between Kosovo and Serbia was being signed in Washington.

According to Ahmeti, the Kosovo Liberation Army has respected all international conventions on war and has not violated the laws of war.

"The freedom of Hashim, Kadri, Rexhepi, Jakupi and others is overdue and must come immediately," he stressed.

The leader of the Democratic Union for Integration in North Macedonia (DUI), Ali Ahmeti, has said that Kosovo institutions can do more to support the former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army, who are being tried in The Hague.

"There is always more to do. Institutions in Kosovo can do more on this issue. The sons of Kosovo are being judged there for both freedom and independence. We expect a greater and stronger commitment... I am sorry that it is given a little political color. This protest is called by associations that emerged from the war and has nothing to do with daily politics," Ahmeti reasoned.

Former President of Albania, Alfred Moisiu, in his speech said that the fighters of the Kosovo Liberation Army did not commit crimes, but performed the highest duty known to history - the liberation of Kosovo and the protection of the people. Moisiu said that the rally is aimed at protecting national dignity and raising his voice against the injustices being done to the former leaders of the KLA.

"In 2022, we were in The Hague in the detention rooms to meet personally with President Thaçi, with Jakup Krasniqi, Kadri Veseli and Rexhep Selimi. In the meeting with these men, I understood and saw that those brave men were not afraid, but are strong men who remained calm and ready to sacrifice to cleanse the war of the KLA and the entire Kosovar people, from the stain that those who do not want the best for Albanians are unjustly trying to give. They have not committed crimes, but have performed the highest duty that contemporary history knows - the liberation of Kosovo and the protection of their people", said Moisiu.

He added that former KLA leaders are being held in detention without evidence.

"Kosovo's freedom is not a gift. It was won with blood, sacrifices and determination, so today more than ever we must be determined and united to protect the future of our nation," he said.

The mayor of Mitrovica and former candidate for prime minister of Kosovo from the ranks of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, Bedri Hamza, has said that the rally in Tirana to demand justice for the former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army who are being tried in The Hague, is a message that all Albanians support the liberators.

"It is a very important rally because it is a message that all Albanians are in support of the liberators. It was a fight for freedom, independence, for the state and they are the most deserving people. We believe in justice and we are convinced that justice will prevail," he told "Euronews Albania".

Meanwhile, Democratic Party of Albania MP Bujar Leskaj, who attended the rally despite the DP's refusal, said he did so out of respect for Hashim Thaçi.

Protests against the Special Court and in support of Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selim and Jakup Krasniqi were held in August in Pristina, and in September at the Special Court's headquarters in the Netherlands.

The trial of the four former KLA commanders began in 2023, three years after they were arrested and taken into custody at the Kosovo court in The Hague. Now, more than two years later, their trial is nearing completion, after the defense of former Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi called its first witnesses last month. Former US Assistant Secretary of State James Rubin, legal advisor to the Kosovo delegation during the 1999 Rambouillet negotiations, Paul Williams, and former British diplomat John Stewart Duncan testified for the defense in September.

They all said in their testimonies that Thaçi had no authority over the KLA.

The Special Court expects the trial to be concluded by the end of December.

Thaçi was the political leader of the KLA before and during the 1998–1999 war, Veseli was the head of the intelligence service, Krasniqi was the spokesman, and Selimi was a member of the General Staff.

The indictment against them includes charges of illegal detention, torture, murder, crimes against humanity, enforced disappearance and persecution of hundreds of civilians and persons who did not participate in the fighting.

These crimes allegedly occurred between March 1998 and September 1999 in various locations in Kosovo, but also in northern Albania.

According to the Specialist Chambers, Thaçi, Veseli, Krasniqi and Selimi bear personal criminal responsibility for these crimes, but they all deny guilt.

Defense lawyers have stated that the KLA would not have gained the support of the international community if there had been a criminal plan, as prosecutors claim. According to them, the indictment is based on a selective misinterpretation of events.

Friday's protest was also supported by the Albanian Government, which decided to lift the toll on the "Rruga e Kombit" highway between Kosovo and Albania for 24 hours, from October 17 to 18. Several municipalities in Kosovo, including the largest ones such as Pristina and Prizren, provided free bus travel from their respective cities to Tirana for Kosovar citizens.

According to reports, Albanians from North Macedonia, Montenegro, and the Presevo Valley also traveled for this protest. 

The history of the creation of the Special

The Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office have jurisdiction over crimes against humanity, war crimes, and other crimes as defined in the Law of Kosovo, in relation to the allegations set out in the Report of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe of 7 January 2011. Following the publication of this report, in September 2011, the European Union established the Special Investigative Task Force (SITF) to conduct an independent investigation into the allegations raised in the report and other crimes related to them. In the summer of 2014, the SITF announced that there was sufficient evidence to file indictments. To examine these claims, it was necessary to create an appropriate institution for proper judicial proceedings.

The Kosovo authorities reached an agreement with the EU on the modalities for processing these serious allegations. On 3 August 2015, the Kosovo Assembly adopted Article 162 of the Kosovo Constitution and the Law on Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office, following an Exchange of Letters between the President of Kosovo and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy in 2014. The Specialist Chambers represent every level of the court system in Kosovo – the Basic Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the Constitutional Court. They operate on the basis of the relevant laws of Kosovo and customary international law, as well as international human rights.

The EU has supported this process from the beginning and, together with other contributing states (Canada, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey and the United States of America), will financially support the work of the court.

The Specialist Chambers consist of two bodies: the Chambers and the Administrative Office. The Office of the Specialist Prosecutor is an independent body for the investigation and prosecution of crimes within the jurisdiction of the Specialist Chambers. The Specialist Chambers and the Office of the Specialist Prosecutor are staffed by judges, prosecutors and international staff, and are based in The Hague, the Netherlands.