Former U.S. Special Envoy for Kosovo Christopher Hill has reacted to the verdict issued by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague against former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), saying he was surprised and disappointed by the sentences handed down.
In an interview with the program “Now me Erla Mëhillin,” Hill spoke from the United States about the first-instance verdict and his testimony in The Hague in defense of Hashim Thaçi.
“My first reaction, honestly, I can tell you, is that it is difficult to predict what the decision would be. When I heard this 25-year sentence, I was surprised and very disappointed,” Hill said.
He recalled that he had testified in Thaçi’s defense and said that, based on his experience during the war, the former Kosovo president had been engaged in efforts to find a peaceful solution.
“I had spoken in defense of Mr. Thaçi at the tribunal in The Hague and, from my perspective, he was always there with me and was trying to find a peaceful way out of the war,” Hill said.
He added that although he was disappointed by the verdict, it was a court decision and that the next steps by the defense teams should now be awaited.
“I was very disappointed by the news of the sentence. Of course, this is a court decision, and diplomats have limited ability to speak about it. We have to wait for the lawyers,” he said.
Hill also discussed the way the KLA was organized during the war. According to him, the organization was not as centralized and integrated as it had been portrayed.
“From my perspective at the time, the KLA was much less organized than its own members claimed, but there was an idea that it wanted to present itself as well organized. The idea that they were well integrated from the bottom all the way to the top—that view never convinced me,” Hill said.
He stressed that his role as an American diplomat at the time had been to find a path toward peace and ensure people’s rights.
“My job was to find some way to achieve peace, to ensure people’s rights and to move forward,” Hill concluded.
Christopher Hill was one of the defense witnesses in the trial of Hashim Thaçi and the other former KLA leaders in The Hague. On September 16, 2026, Thaçi and Jakup Krasniqi were each sentenced to 25 years in prison, Kadri Veseli to 18 years, and Rexhep Selimi to 13 years. The verdict is a first-instance judgment and may be appealed.
