Kosovo war-crimes verdict sparks protests as Thaçi sentenced to 25 years
Kosovo’s Kosovo Specialist Chambers convicted former president Hashim Thaçi and three KLA leaders of war crimes from the 1998-99 conflict, sentencing Thaçi to 25 years (Krasniqi 25, Selimi 13, Veseli 18) and acquitting them of crimes against humanity; the ruling provoked protests and clashes near EULEX in Prishtina and at the Hague, with supporters decrying the verdict as political and vowing appeals, while Serb and Kosovar leaders expressed mixed reactions.