In The Hague, an international tribunal has sentenced Hashim Thaci — once celebrated as the architect of Kosovo's independence — to 25 years in prison for war crimes including arbitrary detention, torture, and murder committed during the 1990s struggle against Serbian rule. The verdict is a rare instance of a nation-founding figure being held accountable for abuses carried out beneath the banner of liberation. It asks a question that echoes across post-conflict societies everywhere: can a people's legitimate struggle for freedom coexist, honestly, with the crimes committed in its name?
Kosovo's Former Leader Sentenced to 25 Years for War Crimes
Victims of arbitrary detention, torture, and murder during Kosovo's 1990s independence struggle were harmed under Thaci's leadership.