Thousands protest Kosovo ex-president's war crimes conviction

Former guerrilla fighters led a protest of thousands in Kosovo's capital on Friday to express anger over the jailing of the country's ex-president Hashim Thaci for war crimes earlier this week.

It was one of the largest rallies since Thaci was sentenced to 25 years for crimes committed during the struggle for independence from Serbia in the 1990s.

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers, based in the Netherlands, ruled that the ex-president and three other former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) leaders were criminally responsible for murders, illegal arrests, torture and cruel treatment committed by KLA fighters during the conflict.

The decision triggered shock and outrage in Kosovo, where the men are still widely regarded as heroes of a brutal conflict that left some 13,000 -- mostly ethnic Albanians -- dead.

Friday's rally, organised by KLA veterans, was the latest of several gatherings sparked by the ruling and drew large crowds to a central square of the city.

"We demand that the court overturn this decision and take into account all these people who stood up to protect their sons," war veteran leader Nasim Haradinaj told the crowd, from a stage flanked by large banners bearing the images of the jailed men.

- 'Great injustice' -
 

The rally came after Thaci's lawyer, Luka Misetic, said that his client would appeal the decision and expressed the former leader's wish for citizens to remain "peaceful".

"Hashim Thaci wishes to express his sincere appreciation for the outpouring of support," he wrote on X Thursday.

Many in the crowd wore military fatigues and waved the crimson-black-and-gold flags of the KLA, as chants of the group's name echoed across the square.

"A great injustice had been done to us," war veteran Ruzhdi Kryeziu told AFP.

Others accused the court -- established under Kosovo law but based in The Hague -- of political bias and criticised its use of evidence supplied by Serbia, which has never recognised its former province's independence.

Thaci was sentenced alongside former senior KLA figures Jakup Krasniqi, Rexhep Selimi and Kadri Veseli. Krasniqi received 25 years, Selimi 13 years and Veseli 18 years.

All four were acquitted of crimes against humanity and have the right to appeal.

Kosovo's government swiftly condemned the ruling, with Prime Minister Albin Kurti calling it "unacceptable" and saying his administration would support the men throughout the appeals process.

Several of Kosovo's international allies have called for the court's decision to be respected while Human Rights Watch said the verdict was an important step for victims.

"This verdict sends an important message to victims and their families that even powerful leaders are not beyond the reach of justice," Human Rights Watch Europe and Central Asia director, Hugh Williamson, said in a statement.