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Kosovo - News according to Justice Info

What is it all about?

Our news on Kosovo, clear and analytic

In February 2023, Kosovo celebrated the fifteenth anniversary of its declaration of independence from Serbia. However, painful memories of the 1998-1999 independence war persist in ongoing trials for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Several indictments have been issued by the Special Court (or "Special Chambers") of Kosovo - a hybrid court
based in the Netherlands - including of former Kosovo president, Hashim Thaçi, who is accused of war crimes in a highly publicized trial. Many Albanians in Kosovo vigorously support former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), whom they consider saviours in the face of Serbian aggression. A tense first trial resulted in a conviction (Salih Mustafa), but the justice system continues to face other challenges, including reparations for the victims. Justice Info covers this particularly sensitive news, providing 100% independent information consolidated by the insightful analyses of our international justice experts.

At the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague, obstruction of justice and pressure on witnesses are on the increase. Photo: montage of 3 portraits of Haxhi Shala, Sabit Januzi and Ismet Bahtijari before the Kosovo Specialist Chambers.
Kosovo: the masters of obstruction
28 March 2025 by Margherita Capacci
Several new cases for obstruction of justice put the spotlight on the Kosovo Chambers. Last November, former Kosovo president Hashim Thaçi was indicted. In February, three former fighters of the UCK were sentenced.
Pjetër Shala, during his verdict before the Kosovo Specialised Chambers (court in The Hague, Netherlands) Kosovo: Pjetër Shala sentenced to 18 years in prison
16 July 2024 by AFP
On Tuesday 16 July, the Kosovo Specialist Chambers sentenced Pjetër Shala to 18 years’ imprisonment for war crimes committed against civilians at the Kukës Metal Factory, northern Albania, in 1999 during the war against Serbia. Ni [...]
At the Kosovo Tribunal (based in The Hague in the Netherlands), Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli and Rexhep Selimi are on trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Kosovo: tension in the prison over witness protection
30 November 2023 by Margherita Capacci
Prosecutors in the war crimes trial against former Kosovo president Hashim Thaçi accused him and two of his co-defendants of attempting to “obstruct the proceedings” by revealing the identities of protected witnesses and trying to [...]
Thaçi trial in The Hague: the former president of Kosovo is on trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Thaçi trial between a rock and a hard place
16 November 2023 by Margherita Capacci
A former Kosovo ambassador testified publicly last week before the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in the Hague. The witness mainly retracted his previous statements against former Kosovo president Hashim Thaçi. But beyond the reasons [...]
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Kosovo War - Installation in honor of the victims of the KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army)
4 May 2023 by Molly Quell
The Kosovo Specialist Chambers orders reparations, but will victims ever see the money? Last month, Salih Mustafa was ordered to pay more than 200,000 euros to his victims for the suffering he allegedly inflicted during Kosovo’s fight for independence. But the former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) prison officer has be [...]
Hashim Thaçi's trial in The Hague - Kosovo's ex-president displayed on a giant poster in Pristina
3 April 2023 by Janet H. Anderson
With ex-Kosovo president Thaçi, the special court big trial opens Today, the Kosovo tribunal in The Hague plays host to a former head of state in the big showpiece trial of this court. Dealing with events at the tail end of the 1990’s as Kosovo was struggling for liberation from Serbian repressi [...]
Pjetër Shala's initial appearance befor the Kosovo Specialis Chambers (KSC) In The Hague, on 19 April, 2021.
21 February 2023 by Molly Quell
Trial of ex-KLA member Pjetër Shala starts in The Hague Nicknamed “Commander Wolf”, Pjetër Shala’s name has come up before both the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the European Union’s rule-of-law mission in Kosovo, EULEX, without deeming it necessa [...]
Salih Mustafa
16 December 2022 by AFP
Kosovo: first conviction for war crimes in The Hague Salih Mustafa was convicted of murder, torture and arbitrary detention in a prison run by Kosovo's Albanian independence guerrilla group, the KLA, which has been in power in Pristina since the 1998-1999 war of independence against [...]
Salih Mustafa's lawyer (Julius von Bone) faces and greets prosecutor Jack Smith during the trial in The Hague for the allegated war crimes commited by Mustafa in Kosovo.
19 September 2022 by Molly Quell
Kosovo Specialist Chambers wraps its first war crimes trial Two years after his arrest and a year to the day after the beginning of his trial, former Kosovo Liberation Army commander Salih Mustafa heard the closing arguments before the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, in The Hague. He’s been ac [...]
Hysni Gucati and Nasim Haradinaj stand before the Kosovo Specialized Chambers
20 May 2022 by Molly Quell
Kosovo: two KLA veterans jailed for “witness intimidation” On Wednesday 18 May, the Kosovo special court based in The Hague decided to strongly sanction two former members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) for “obstruction of justice” and “witness intimidation”. At the origin of this ca [...]
An old man looks at photos of war victims on a wall in Kosovo.
27 September 2021 by Asymmetrical Haircuts
Bringing justice home in Kosovo For more than 20 years, victims in Kosovo told their stories to UN prosecutors and lawyers, to EU judges, again and again. They experienced first-hand the limits and assets of international justice. How can justice be brought back [...]
Salih Mustapha in the dock of the accused
17 September 2021 by Stephanie van den Berg
Kosovo Chambers: battle for legitimacy at the opening of first trial The first trial of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers opened on September 15 against a Kosovo Liberation Army prison officer, Salih Mustafa, with a lengthy plea from US prosecutor Jack Smith – to defend its legitimacy to target “ [...]
6 November 2020 by Una Hajdari
With president Thaçi and three former KLA in the dock, Kosovo Chambers can start This is the first time a sitting president surrenders to an international court. Kosovo president Hashim Thaçi resigned around noon Thursday November 5, after announcing that his indictment was confirmed by the Kosovo Specialist C [...]
27 October 2020 by Una Hajdari
Welcome to Kosovo’s judicial battleground A damaging leak of documents on criminal investigations followed by three swift arrests: in the space of a couple of weeks in September, the work of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, a hybrid tribunal based in The Netherlands, has t [...]
24 June 2020 by AFP
Kosovo President is accused of crimes against humanity Hashim Thaci, President of Kosovo, is accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes by the Prosecutor of the Specialist Chambers for Kosovo, an international tribunal based in The Hague. Kadri Veseli, former head of intelligen [...]
19 March 2020 by Asymmetrical Haircuts
Can the Kosovo zombie court come to life? You’re in lock-down? Listening Stayin’ Alive? May be the right time to finally seat down and learn and laugh about Kosovo’s « zombie court », as nicknamed by Justice Info’s apocalypse freak correspondents and partners, Janet Ander [...]
24 February 2020 by AFP
First indictments are filed before the Kosovo Specialist Chambers The Prosecutor of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers filed the first indictments against Kosovo officials for crimes committed during the war of independence more than 20 years ago. Five years after the establishment of this so-called [...]
11 February 2020 by Meris Musanovic and Arolda Elbasani
Can the Kosovo Specialist Chambers do better than its predecessors? The Kosovo Specialist Chambers are the latest, contested attempt at delivering justice for unpunished war crimes since the 1999 conflict. Their many predecessors have tried, but largely failed to bring justice to the victims, say [...]
12 July 2019 by Stephanie van den Berg and Amra Zejneli
Kosovo Specialist Chambers: gearing up for uncomfortable truths? Everything seems to be in place for the Kosovo Specialist Chambers to issue its first indictment, four years after it was established. Investigations have gone for years, dozens of people have been interviewed in The Hague, where [...]
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