- Former Kosovo president Hashim Thaci , 58, has been convicted of war crimes including murder, torture, cruel treatment, and arbitrary detention, receiving a 25-year prison sentence from an EU -backed court in The Hague.
- The trial at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers focused on actions taken during the 1998–99 war for independence from Serbia, where Thaci and three co-defendants were accused of targeting political opponents and perceived traitors while leading the Kosovo Liberation Army.
- All four defendants denied the charges throughout the nearly three-year trial, during which prosecutors requested prison sentences of up to 45 years.
- Demonstrators gathered in Kosovo's capital, Pristina, ahead of the verdict to voice support for the defendants, who remain widely viewed as national heroes in their homeland.
- Having resigned from office nearly six years ago to defend himself, Thaci is also scheduled to face a separate trial later this month over allegations of witness intimidation.
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