Former British diplomat John Stewart Duncan has concluded his testimony in defense of former KLA leaders who are on trial for alleged war crimes at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague.
The next hearing with a different witness is scheduled for Monday, September 29.
Duncan, who served in the 1990s as a political adviser to Wesley Clark, the then-NATO commander, spoke about his role in Kosovo during the 1999 bombing campaign. He emphasized that his main task was to inform General Clark about developments on the ground.
In his testimony, the former British diplomat stated that he had not seen any KLA communiqués mentioning executions and that there was no evidence that the KLA had a General Staff according to military standards. He noted that Hashim Thaçi was perceived as a politician, not a KLA commander.
“I never saw him give military orders or directives. It was clear that there were two categories of people: senior officers and politicians. Thaçi belonged to the latter,” he said.
Duncan also added that the KLA did not have a clearly defined military hierarchy.
He is the third defense witness, following James Rubin, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, and Paul Williams, former legal adviser to the Kosovo delegation at Rambouillet.
The defense presentation began on September 15. The defense team for former President Hashim Thaçi plans to call a total of 11 witnesses, followed by two witnesses proposed by the defense of Jakup Krasniqi.
The submission of evidence is expected to conclude by mid-November, with the defense teams required to submit final documents by December 22, 2025.
Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi, and Rexhep Selimi have been in detention since November 2020 on charges of alleged war crimes.
