“The judgment of the Specialist Chambers has caused strong emotions. I appreciate your measured response, and that of other political leaders, calling for calm,” EC President said at a joint news conference with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti in Prishtina.

Former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and former parliament speakers Jakup Krasniqi and Kadri Veseli were sentenced to 25, 25 and 18 years in prison respectively, while former lawmaker Rexhep Selimi received a 13-year sentence.

The four men were senior KLA figures during the 1998-99 war against Serbian forces and are widely regarded as heroes by Kosovo Albanians.

“This judgment was delivered by independent judicial institutions and their mandate must be fully respected”, von der Leyen said during her sixth visit to Kosovo.

“But one thing is clear. This judgment is about the individual responsibility of the defendants. Kosovo’s resistance was not on trial. And we must honour the memory of all victims from all communities in Kosovo,” she added.

The Hague-based court ruling has sparked repeated protests in Kosovo, where many Albanians have expressed concern that the proceedings portrayed the KLA as a joint criminal enterprise. The presiding judge has repeatedly stressed that the KLA’s war for liberation was not itself on trial.

Kurti, speaking alongside von der Leyen, also stressed that the court had made clear that the KLA was not on trial and said the ruling did not seek to undermine the justice or legitimacy of Kosovo’s liberation war.

He said this distinction should be emphasised more strongly internationally.

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Speaking during a visit to the United States, Kurti described the verdict as legally and morally unjust and historically and factually inaccurate.

“A state strategy for the most appropriate and effective response to the first-instance verdict is necessary, both in supporting defence teams during the appeals process and on the diplomatic front,” Kurti wrote on Facebook.

He said Kosovo would work with its international allies to defend what he described as the country’s liberation war against Serbian “propaganda” and to document massacres and other crimes committed by Serbia in Kosovo, which he said Belgrade continued to seek to conceal more than 27 years after the war.

During his first day in New York, Kurti also met members of the Albanian-American diaspora at a discussion titled “Between Here and Home”, organised by ZANI, F’Oda and the Columbia University Albanian Society.

Kurti said discussions covered a range of issues, including economic growth of 5.4% in the first quarter of the year and a decline in unemployment from 26% to 10% during his government’s tenure.

He also acknowledged the need for further improvements in the integrity and performance of Kosovo’s judicial system, which he said remained the subject of criticism in international reports, including those by the European Commission.

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In an interview with Klan News, Hill described Thaçi as a capable commander who was exceptionally mature for his age and said he had always regarded him highly.

“Hashim Thaçi was a remarkable personality, very mature for his age. He understood that Kosovo needed to be in a better position, and I always appreciated him. I do not believe he was involved in crimes. I never had the sense that Thaçi was involved in illegal acts,” Hill said.

Hill urged Kosovo Albanians not to respond to the verdict with resentment, but to look ahead and await the outcome of the appeals process.

“I would appeal to people not to feel resentment over this decision. We should look ahead and hope that the Appeals Court decision will be in favour of the former KLA leaders,” he said.

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers sentenced Thaçi and three other former KLA leaders to a combined 81 years in prison at first instance.

Thaçi and Jakup Krasniqi were each sentenced to 25 years, Kadri Veseli to 18 years and Rexhep Selimi to 13 years. The verdicts are subject to appeal.

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In a statement issued by his lawyer on social media platform X on Thursday, Thaçi thanked people in Kosovo and the international community for their support and called for a peaceful response to the verdict.

His defence said it would appeal to the Appeals Panel of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, arguing that the trial had been marred by significant legal and factual errors and procedural concerns.

The defence also challenged the trial panel’s assessment of evidence, saying the findings of guilt beyond reasonable doubt were based on insufficient and uncorroborated evidence.

It specifically disputed the panel’s finding that Thaçi was involved in the killing of Behajdin Allaqi, saying evidence related to the case had been kept confidential during the proceedings.

“Mr. Thaçi expressly denies any involvement in killings,” the statement said.

The defence said it would formally file an appeal alleging violations of Thaçi’s fundamental right to a fair trial under the European Convention on Human Rights and Kosovo’s constitution.

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“Twenty-seven years have passed, and some of those in court have forgotten the fear of Milosevic’s repression of the people of Kosovo,” Clark said in a live interview with “Off the Record” talk show at A2 CNN television.

He recalled the summer of 1998, when he said more than 400,000 people were driven from their villages and Serbian forces carried out operations targeting intellectuals, lawyers and professors, as well as looting homes and committing horrendous crimes against civilians.

“People resisted, of course, but perhaps today, 27 years later, looking at what is happening with the Russian invasion of Ukraine and in the Middle East, people forget. But it is not the same thing. They should not forget what happened from 1997 to 1999,” Clark said, adding that the lessons of Kosovo were important for protecting human rights.

Asked about the Hague verdict, which sentenced four former KLA leaders to a combined 81 years in prison, Clark said he had seen no evidence that justified the convictions.

“I know Thaçi and his colleagues and all those who fought. I testified at the trial and said what I had seen. I knew what was happening in Kosovo and about our cooperation with the KLA, and I saw no evidence to justify this kind of decision,” Clark said.

He acknowledged that the court had issued its ruling but said the appeals process would be difficult.

Clark also questioned the significance of evidence that had been kept secret from him during the proceedings.

“These secret testimonies, where even I was not shown any evidence from the prosecution, would not have changed my mind,” he said.

Clark said he had met Hashim Thaçi three times during the conflict, including at the Rambouillet talks, and later in Kosovo.

“The KLA and what was happening there was a rebellion against an authoritarian regime,” he said, adding that individual crimes had also been committed by Serbs against their Albanian neighbours.

Clark said he had also described in court the strong emotions within communities where people who had lived alongside each other for years felt betrayed by their neighbours.

He said he believed Thaçi had made a significant effort to protect the innocent Serbian population, including those living north of the Iber River.

“I had concerns about what could happen later, but I could not say that Thaçi was someone who should be convicted of war crimes,” Clark said.

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In a statement, KASH raised concerns about the length of the proceedings, the defendants’ years-long detention, the proportionality of the sentences and the standards applied during the trial.

It stressed that the verdict should not be interpreted as a judgment against the people of Kosovo, the KLA or its war for freedom and independence.

KASH said the KLA’s war had been a “just and liberation war” against the repression, ethnic cleansing and systematic violence of Slobodan Milosevic’s regime. It said the conflict had received the support of the democratic world, while NATO’s intervention had ended a humanitarian tragedy that forced about one million Kosovo Albanians from their homes.

“The documented crimes of this regime – killings, massacres, forced expulsions and systematic persecution of the civilian population – cannot be relativised or equated with the freedom struggle of the people of Kosovo and its leaders,” the council said.

It said the verdict against the four former KLA leaders could not be interpreted as a judgment against the people of Kosovo or the KLA’s war.

“No court decision can tarnish the sacrifice of thousands of martyrs and victims, erase the historic right of the people of Kosovo to freedom, or overturn the fundamental distinction between aggressor and victim. The history of Kosovo and the liberation character of its war cannot be rewritten,” KASH said.

The council called on Kosovo’s international partners to maintain what it described as a clear and balanced position, saying respect for judicial proceedings should not lead to what it called a relativisation of Serbian aggression, a moral equivalence between the sides or a rewriting of the history of Kosovo’s liberation war.

KASH said it expected the appeals process to examine the evidence, legal conclusions, the determination of individual responsibility and the proportionality of the sentences with full impartiality and rigour, while ensuring the defendants’ right to a fair trial.

It noted that Wednesday’s verdict was a first-instance ruling and that legal remedies had not yet been exhausted.

At the same time, the council called on the international community to apply the same standards of justice to alleged mass crimes committed by Serbian state forces in Kosovo.

“Justice cannot be complete, equal and credible as long as many of those responsible for massacres, expulsions, sexual violence, destruction and enforced disappearances remain unpunished,” KASH said.

The council expressed solidarity with the people of Kosovo and the families of those convicted, calling for calm, unity, dignity and confidence in the legal remedies provided by law.

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The event brought together officials, relatives, citizens and political figures, who highlighted the importance of preserving the memory of the KLA war and the families’ wait for the conclusion of the proceedings.

Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) leader Bedri Hamza said the countdown clock symbolised the wait of the families and Kosovo as a whole.

“This screen is a symbol of our waiting here in Prishtina. Similar screens will be installed across Kosovo. They are more than screens – they are a message to the families who are waiting, to those in The Hague and to the world that Kosovo does not forget,” Hamza said.

The “Freedom Has a Name” platform plans to hold further events across Kosovo ahead of the verdict, focusing on remembrance of the war and the sacrifices made for Kosovo’s freedom.

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