PRISTINA: Prosecutors with a special international court in The Hague on Friday charged Kosovo’s former president Hashim Thaci, who is on trial for war crimes, with obstruction and contempt of court.
Thaci “has been charged with three counts of obstruction of official persons in performing official duties, four counts of violating secrecy of proceedings and four counts of contempt of court,” said a statement released by prosecutors.
A separate statement by the Kosovo Specialists Chambers (KSC) in The Hague said “the indictment charges the accused with offenses related to alleged unlawful efforts to influence witness testimonies in the Thaci et al war crimes trial.”
The KSC is a court located in The Hague to prosecute mainly former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) fighters for war crimes.
Among them is former KLA commander Thaci, who dominated Kosovo’s politics after it declared independence from Serbia in 2008 and rose to become president of the tiny country.
Thaci resigned from the presidency in late 2020 to face war crimes and crimes against humanity charges, and has pleaded not guilty.