{
  "id": 7916217,
  "title": "Former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci Sentenced to 25 Years",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/16/former-kosovo-president-hashim-thaci-sentenced-to-25-years-7916217",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-16T22:03:28.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "KahawaTungu",
    "slug": "kahawatungu",
    "url": "https://kahawatungu.com/former-kosovo-president-hashim-thaci-sentenced-to-25-years/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On September 16, 2026, a Kosovo court convicted former President Hashim Thaci of four war crimes and sentenced him to 25 years in prison. The decision ended a three-year trial that began in April 2023. Thaci, 58, was found guilty of four charges: murder, torture, cruel treatment, and arbitrary detention. He was acquitted of six counts of crimes against humanity due to insufficient evidence proving them as part of a widespread or systematic attack. The court determined Thaci was responsible for the deaths of 96, torture of 303, cruel treatment of 49, and detention of 385 individuals, all targeted as opponents to the KLA's goals. Thaci was a high-ranking KLA official and political director, orchestrating the arrests, detentions, and killings of innocent civilians. Three other KLA leaders, Jakup Krasniqi, Kadri Veseli, and Rexhep Selimi, received sentences of 25, 18, and 13 years respectively. Both the defense and prosecution can appeal the verdict, as it is only a first-instance ruling.",
  "summary": "On September 16, 2026, the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague convicted former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci of four counts of war crimes and sentenced him to 25 years in prison. The ruling marks the conclusion of a three-year trial stemming from the 1998–1999 Kosovo conflict. The Kosovo Specialist Chambers, a European Union-backed tribunal based [...] The post Former Kosovo President Hashim…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "KahawaTungu",
        "title": "Former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci Sentenced to 25 Years",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/16/former-kosovo-president-hashim-thaci-sentenced-to-25-years",
        "published": "2026-09-16T20:01:42.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Le Monde English",
        "title": "Former president of Kosovo Hashim Thaçi sentenced to 25 years in prison for war crimes",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/16/former-president-of-kosovo-hashim-thaci-sentenced-to-25-years-in",
        "published": "2026-09-16T22:35:35.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}