The Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) has responded to British Ambassador to Kosovo Jonathan Hargreaves after he described the convictions of former KLA leaders in The Hague as concerning “individual crimes.”
In an official statement, PDK said it considers the ambassador’s description an unacceptable diplomatic reduction of a judgment that, in the party’s view, carries broader historical and political implications for Kosovo.
“[The] statement by the British Ambassador to Kosovo, Jonathan Hargreaves, that the judgment in The Hague against former KLA leaders and founders of the Republic of Kosovo concerns ‘individual crimes’ is an unacceptable diplomatic reduction of a decision with far-reaching historical and political consequences for Kosovo’s past, present and future,” PDK said.
The party argued that the Kosovo Specialist Chambers addressed the alleged existence of a “common criminal purpose” involving members of the KLA and that Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi were found criminally responsible in connection with that purpose.
The court’s official judgment states that all four were individually criminally responsible for war crimes including arbitrary detention, cruel treatment, torture and murder. It also found that they contributed significantly to a common criminal purpose targeting people perceived as opponents of the KLA’s political and military goals. At the same time, the Trial Panel stressed that the proceedings concerned the individual criminal responsibility of the four accused, not the legitimacy of the KLA or the goal of an independent Kosovo.
PDK also emphasized the four men’s role during the 1999 Kosovo war and their cooperation with NATO during the campaign against Serbian forces.
According to PDK, describing the case simply as involving “individual crimes” fails to reflect what the party considers the broader implications of the judgment for Kosovo’s historical narrative.
Among other points, the party stated:
“No diplomatic language can change the unacceptable content of this judgment or its consequences for how the KLA war and the history of Kosovo are interpreted.
International justice, unfortunately, is today perceived in Kosovo only as a political instrument for determining which political figures in Kosovo should be removed from the political scene and which should be supported, because the Specialist Chambers have become the most visible example of political abuse in the name of justice.
Kosovo recognizes the historic role of the United Kingdom in our liberation and the consolidation of our state, but criticism of the functioning of the Specialist Chambers has also been raised by British experts and human rights organizations.
These concerns should not be ignored by the states that support and finance this institution, especially the United Kingdom.
The Democratic Party of Kosovo will oppose any interpretation that distorts the historical truth of the war in Kosovo. We will do so through every democratic, political and legal means, in institutions and in every democratic space where the voice of our citizens must be heard, as it is being heard around the world today.
We will not allow Kosovo’s history to be rewritten. Kosovo’s future will be determined by its own citizens.”
The Specialist Chambers found the four defendants guilty on September 16, 2026, sentencing Thaçi and Krasniqi to 25 years, Veseli to 18 years and Selimi to 13 years. The panel acquitted them of crimes against humanity, finding that the prosecution had not proved beyond reasonable doubt the existence of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population.
