The sixth day of closing arguments in the trial of former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) leaders concluded Monday with the Prosecution requesting that Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi, and Rexhep Selimi be found guilty.
Prosecutor Matthew Halling stated in his closing remarks that the judicial record demonstrates that the accused, through what he described as abuse of their positions and the structures they led, acted with a common criminal purpose.
“The entire judicial record shows that the accused did what they said they would do,” Halling said, arguing that they are guilty “beyond reasonable doubt.”
Prosecution’s Key Arguments
Halling rejected defense claims that there is no evidence of direct orders or communications from the KLA General Staff conveying the alleged joint criminal enterprise.
He referred to evidence discussing the “mass execution of detainees,” quoting testimony that gunmen allegedly said: “We have an order from the General Staff to remove the prisoners.” According to Halling, this constituted a direct order from the General Staff, of which all four accused were allegedly members at the time.
He also dismissed defense criticism that the Prosecution relied solely on incriminating evidence, stating that the case file contains detailed explanations regarding the credibility of witnesses and that certain earlier claims were modified or dropped when unsupported.
Prosecutor James Pache argued that Thaçi’s defense failed to justify the 1998 detention of two Serbian journalists and a delegation from the Democratic League of Kosovo. Even if there were alleged military reasons for questioning them, Pache maintained that this did not meet the legal threshold for detention, nor did it justify alleged mistreatment.
Prosecutor Alan Tieger asserted that the defense attempted to portray the accused as well-intentioned individuals without power or motive. He argued that while joining a liberation struggle is not a crime, presenting the accused as ordinary members of the KLA ignores their alleged roles as founders and key members of the General Staff.
According to Tieger, their actions and authority reflected commitment to a common criminal objective, and the crimes that followed were supported by substantial evidence that cannot be dismissed.
Defense Arguments
For much of the session, Krasniqi’s defense argued that the Prosecution wrongly attempted to link his presence at certain alleged crime scenes with responsibility for crimes, without presenting evidence that his presence contributed to their commission.
His defense also rejected the claim that he and other KLA members shared a criminal objective to gain and exercise control over all of Kosovo through crimes.
Thaçi’s lawyer, Luka Mišetić, argued that the Prosecution failed to prove that KLA public statements directly incited or influenced the commission of crimes listed in the indictment.
“We are saying they must prove that the statements translated into effect — that they had an impact on at least one of the crimes mentioned in the indictment. Otherwise, we are speaking theoretically,” Mišetić said.
The next hearing is scheduled for Wednesday morning at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague.
