Prosecutors with a special international court in The Hague on Friday charged Kosovo's former president Hashim Thaci, who is on trial for war crimes, with obstruction and contempt of court.
Thaci "has been charged with three counts of obstruction of official persons in performing official duties, four counts of violating secrecy of proceedings and four counts of contempt of court," said a statement released by prosecutors.
A separate statement by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC) in The Hague said, "the indictment charges the accused with offences related to alleged unlawful efforts to influence witness testimonies in the Thaci et al war crimes trial".
Four others were charged with Thaci, including the former head of Kosovo's intelligence agency Bashkim Smakaj and Hajredin Kuci, who previously served as deputy prime minister and justice minister.
According to the court statement, Thaci provided the four with confidential information about the prosecution's witnesses and had "instructed them to influence" their testimonies.
Thaci resigned from the presidency in late 2020 to face war crimes and crimes against humanity charges, and has pleaded not guilty.
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