PRISHTINA, Sept. 12 /ATSH/ – Thousands of people from Kosovo, Albania and North Macedonia gathered in Prishtina on Saturday for the “March for Freedom.”
The march is being held in support of four former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) leaders standing trial in The Hague, just four days before the scheduled verdict in the case against Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi.
A stage for speeches and performances has been set up in Prishtina’s Skanderbeg Square, which was filled with people, as were nearby streets and Mother Teresa Square.
Representatives of political parties, Kosovo war veterans and relatives of the defendants were also among those attending.
Prishtina Mayor Përparim Rama said public transport in the capital would be free on Saturday. Free transport to Prishtina has also been organised from cities across Kosovo for people attending the march.
The event, organised by the civic movement Freedom Has a Name, comes as the trial of the four former KLA leaders enters its final stage. The Kosovo Specialist Chambers have set Sept. 16 for the verdict, more than three years after the trial began.
The four defendants face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, all of which they have denied.
The programme includes speeches by the leaders of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Bedri Hamza and Ardian Gjini, as well as representatives of Freedom has a Name, war veterans’ associations and families of those killed in the war. The programme also features patriotic songs.
Saturday’s gathering is not the first in Kosovo in support of the former KLA leaders or against the Specialist Chambers.
In April 2023, a day before the trial of Thaçi, Veseli, Selimi and Krasniqi began, thousands marched in Prishtina in their support, calling the proceedings unfair and expressing support for the KLA’s wartime role.
One of the largest rallies in recent years was held on Feb. 17, 2026, marking the 18th anniversary of Kosovo’s independence. Thousands took part in a march titled “Justice, Not Politics”, organised in support of the former KLA leaders.
The march came as the Hague trial was nearing its conclusion. Prosecutors completed their case in April 2025, while the defence concluded its case in December. Closing statements were delivered in February 2026.
The verdict was subsequently postponed. It had initially been expected earlier in the year, but in July the Kosovo Specialist Chambers said the ruling would be delivered on Sept. 16, citing the complexity of the case and the large volume of evidence.
Prosecutors allege that Thaçi, Veseli, Selimi and Krasniqi bear individual criminal responsibility for crimes committed in Kosovo and northern Albania during the 1998-99 war.
The indictment contains six counts of crimes against humanity and four counts of war crimes, with prosecutors seeking 45-year prison sentences for each defendant.
The four former KLA leaders were arrested in November 2020 and transferred to the Specialist Chambers’ detention facility in The Hague. Their trial began on April 3, 2023.
The Sept. 16 verdict is expected to be one of the most significant rulings by the Specialist Chambers, which were established in 2015 to hear cases concerning alleged crimes committed by KLA members during and after Kosovo’s 1998-99 war.
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