The appeals chamber at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague rejected ex-President Hashim Thaci’s plea for conditional release from pre-trial detention because there is still a risk that he might abscond.
Thaci, a former high-ranking former member of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), had argued that the pre-trial judge was wrong to conclude that he continues to play a significant role and wield influence and authority in Kosovo. Thaci and three co-defendants are accused of a series of war crimes and crimes against humanity including illegal detentions, torture, murder, enforced disappearances and prosecution from at least March 1998 to September 1999.
The Specialist Chambers were set up under pressure from Kosovo’s Western allies, who feared that Kosovo’s justice system was not robust enough to try KLA cases and protect witnesses from interference.
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