Former Dutch Ambassador to Kosovo, Robert Bosch, has described the Specialist Prosecutor’s request for 45-year prison sentences for the four leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) as absurd.
Bosch emphasized that there is no evidence supporting the allegations of war crimes against Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi, and Jakup Krasniqi. In an interview with KosovaPress from The Hague, he expressed his expectation that the court will declare the accused not guilty due to lack of evidence.
On Monday, final submissions began in what is considered the largest trial at the Specialist Chambers. The Chief Specialist Prosecutor, Kimberly West, requested 45-year prison sentences for Thaçi and the other three. Meanwhile, the defense teams requested full acquittals on all charges, asserting that there is no evidence supporting the prosecutors’ claims.
Bosch stressed that the KLA was not a criminal organization, pointing out that NATO would never have cooperated with them otherwise.
“45 years in prison based on what? I mean, I’m really sorry. I just cannot understand it because, as you know, this process has been going on for a long time and there have been many witnesses, many of whom have actually contradicted the prosecution. What I don’t understand about the prosecution is that they seem to be simply enemies of these four individuals. It’s as if they are there just to convict them at any cost. Normally, you would say: ‘Okay, there’s a trial, they are accused.’ I’m not a lawyer, but then come the witnesses and you think: ‘Oh, maybe it’s not as bad as we thought.’ That would be normal. And now, in fact, they made it worse. They still claim that the KLA was a criminal organization, which is not true. I personally was involved in 1999 with the Dutch government and NATO, and we knew we were using the KLA as NATO ground forces. So it certainly wasn’t a criminal organization; otherwise, we wouldn’t have cooperated with them. They worked for us. So what the prosecutor is claiming, de facto, is that NATO was cooperating with a criminal organization, which is not true. And again, witnesses like Clark have confirmed this wasn’t the case,” Bosch said.
Bosch stressed that the bench, led by Judge Charles Smith, must remain neutral in deciding the fate of the accused.
“Judges must be neutral. They are not the same as the prosecution. I hope and must believe the judges are truly objective. If they are objective, they will see that the prosecution has a very weak case. In my opinion, they should dismiss the entire case due to its weakness and either release the accused for lack of strong evidence or state that it doesn’t concern them at all. It would be very strange if they followed the prosecution blindly,” Bosch added.
Bosch described the prosecution’s request as equivalent to a life sentence.
“This is absurd because 45 years effectively equals life imprisonment. If they serve 45 years, they won’t survive; they will die in prison. So it’s a life sentence. As I said, it’s an absurd request. It’s also absurd because there is very little evidence. It’s even stranger to request such a sentence when the evidence is minimal. Even if the KLA were a criminal organization and Thaçi were the head issuing orders—which has been proven false—45 years is still excessive. I must trust the judges. What worries me is that if the judges do their job properly and release them, the prosecution may appeal, which means the process could continue for many years,” Bosch said.
In Prishtina, protests are planned on the 18th anniversary of Kosovo’s independence under the motto “Justice, Not Politics.”
Bosch emphasized that protests are necessary as long as they remain peaceful, noting that labeling the KLA a criminal organization is an insult to Kosovo.
He also spoke about the importance of a stable government in Kosovo, noting that last year, due to political instability, the country lost significant funds from the EU and World Bank. Bosch urged authorities to prioritize the economy, saying, “This is the main priority… I expect them to do good work, because this is what a government should do.”
The final submissions in the Specialist Chambers will continue with the defense team of Jakup Krasniqi, followed by presentations from the bench, the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office, and the victims’ counsel. On Wednesday, the former KLA leaders themselves will address the bench for 20 minutes each.
Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi, and Rexhep Selimi face charges brought by the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office, which the accused and their defense teams have rejected as unsubstantiated, arguing that the KLA did not have a structured command hierarchy. The trial began on April 3, 2023—almost three years after the indictment—and the former KLA leaders have been detained in The Hague since then.
