At the Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC) in The Hague, the prosecution continues to present its closing statements in the trial against Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi, and Jakup Krasniqi.
Prosecutor Matt Halling argued that the accused held roles within the KLA General Staff that allowed them to advance their “common criminal purpose.”
According to him, the accused created mechanisms and denied their criminal acts in an attempt to deceive international observers.
“We have already discussed individual criminal responsibility. The contribution of the accused must be understood through the strong collective role they held as senior members of the General Staff. They combined their individual positions and turned them into something much larger. In their roles, they were able to advance the common criminal purpose, appoint members of the KP, coordinate efforts, and deny criminal acts in order to deceive international observers. Arguments regarding the common purpose have already been discussed. The crimes they committed are significant contributions of the KP,” he claimed.
Halling also raised doubts about the credibility of their witness, Sokol Bashota, regarding Hashim Thaçi’s involvement in the KLA General Staff.
“The structures through which they operated actually show the control each of them had. What has been said so far also relates to their individual responsibility… The KSC has not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Thaçi was one of the founders of the KLA or a member of the General or Central Staff before 1998. Mr. Tiger briefly addressed this, but Thaçi’s defense arguments do not hold. Thaçi’s defense misleads when it claims that Azem Syla, a member of the KP, was in a position to know who the original members of the General Staff were. In fact, this contradicts the claim that Hashim Thaçi was one of the KLA founders. In Exhibit 847, Syla speaks about the initial composition of the General Staff of the KLA. He identifies Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, and Rexhep Selimi as founding members. In Exhibit 11875, Syla actually refers to something else, specifically what he considered a founding meeting of the KLA in December 1993,” he said.
According to Prosecutor Halling, Thaçi was able to conceal what was happening on the ground, so neither James Rubin, Wesley Clark, nor other international actors were aware of the real situation.
“What James Rubin, Wesley Clark, and other international actors did not understand is that Thaçi was able to conceal the reality on the ground, which shaped their perception of how the KLA actually functioned. Rubin and Clark in particular showed no interest in understanding what was happening in reality. They believed their work was on the right side of history and did not confront what the trial panel was hearing,” he added.
The prosecutor, speaking about Hashim Thaçi’s responsibility in the war, stated that he contributed to multiple criminal acts. He added that the accused’s role in the KLA was not for political or neutral purposes, as the defense claims.
“Hashim Thaçi was a direct supporter of the common criminal purpose. This is evident in how he spoke about the LDK, one of the groups whose policies targeted opponents… He stated that those who did not recognize the General Staff were criminals, and that we would not give weapons to criminals but would fight them. Here is the proof, when at a tense moment with Tahir Zemaj, Thaçi told him he would fight Tahir Zemaj the same way as the Serbs, you, and your units… Where the Qirez delegation stopped and it culminated with Thaçi declaring that we would kill them in Prishtina. To describe Thaçi’s contributions as neutral is absurd, as there is evidence to prove otherwise. Participation in interrogations, threats, and physical assaults in Qirez is not a neutral contribution,” he added.
In the closing session on Monday, statements were given regarding the functioning and structure of the General Staff. The prosecution requested that Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi, and Rexhep Selimi each be sentenced to 45 years in prison, totaling 180 years.
