Kosovo's former President pleads not guilty to war crimes charges in Hague court
Kosovo's former President Hashim Thaci, who resigned
last week to face war crimes charges, pleaded not guilty in The Hague on
Monday.
Wearing a grey suit and red tie for the hearing in
the Netherlands, Thaci told the judge: "Your honor, the indictment is
completely without basis and I plead not guilty."
A leading guerilla during the 1990s conflict with
Serbia, Thaci, 52, stepped down from his role as president of the
partially-recognized state last Thursday in order to face the charges. He
subsequently flew to the Netherlands where he was placed in the detention
center of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC).
Thaci was the political chief of the rebel Kosovo
Liberation Army (KLA), an ethnic Albanian group which battled Serb forces for
the independence of the southern province in a war that claimed more than
13,000 lives.
Thaci oversaw Kosovo's unilateral declaration of
independence 12 years ago before becoming its first prime minister. Thaci was
then elected president in February 2016, before assuming office two months
later.
Three others, as well as Thaci, have been charged
with war crimes and crimes against humanity. The charge sheet includes murder,
torture, illegal detention, enforced disappearances and persecution, all of
which allegedly occurred under Thaci's watch in 1998 and 1999.
The indictment accuses the quartet of "a
widespread or systematic attack against the civilian population,"
including those believed to be collaborating with Serb forces, or not
cooperating with the KLA.
