There have been angry reactions in Kosovo after the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague on Wednesday said the verdict in the war crimes and crimes against humanity trial of former Kosovo Liberation Army leaders Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi will not be delivered until September 16.
This is the second extension of the deadline to issue a verdict. According to the court’s regulations, a verdict should be announced within 90 days of the closure of a trial. The trial of Thaci, former parliamentary speakers Veseli and Krasniqi and former MP Selimi, ended on February 18, so the verdict was expected by May 19.
Thaci, Veseli, Krasniqi and Selimi, are accused of individual and command responsibility for crimes committed against prisoners held at KLA detention facilities in Kosovo and in neighboring Albania, including 102 murders. The crimes were allegedly committed during and just after the Kosovo war in 1998 and 1999.
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