Drecun: If there is no appropriate sentence for Thaci, it will amount to forgiving and legalizing KLA crimes

The chair of the Serbian Parliament's Committee on Defense and Internal Affairs, Milovan Drecun, said that if there is no appropriate sentence for Hashim Thaci and three other former KLA leaders, it would amount to forgiving and legalizing their crimes, for which there is extensive evidence.

Drecun told RTS that extensive evidence had been presented during the trial in The Hague showing that Thaci and the other three had carried out a joint criminal enterprise.

He recalled that some witnesses withdrew from appearing before the court under pressure, which is why Thaci is also on trial in a separate proceeding for obstruction of justice.

He recalled that, as chair of the Serbian Parliament's Committee on Kosovo and Metohija, he had established a working group to collect evidence of KLA crimes, and that he was surprised that, despite the extensive evidence collected, the process of bringing indictments had been halted.

“It was stated who else was involved in the joint criminal enterprise, by name and surname. More indictments were expected. Prosecutors from the Special Prosecutor's Office asked me for new evidence against Ramush Haradinaj. And then suddenly, silence, and nothing more happened. That was when it became clear to me that someone had given a political directive to prosecute only these four,” Drecun said.

He also reiterated that Richard Grenell's statement that the West wants Thaci to be acquitted because he was “allegedly constructive when the Belgrade-Pristina talks were being held” is unacceptable.

“You cannot use some kind of political constructiveness to justify the crimes of criminals. That is unacceptable, that is selective justice,” Drecun stressed.

He also pointed to a statement by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, with which he agrees, that things are moving toward Thaci being convicted of crimes against Serbs, but that it remains to be seen whether he will also be convicted of crimes against Albanians, which are the focus of the indictment.

“He will probably be convicted, but the sentence will be no more than the time he has spent in detention. But if there is no appropriate sentence for Hashim Thaci, it will amount to forgiving crimes and legalizing the crimes of the terrorist KLA. The verdict must state that they carried out a joint criminal enterprise, because that is a fact. They committed horrific indiscriminate crimes, killing old and young, children, women and Albanians, but above all Serbs,” Drecun said.

He added that some kind of political verdict could be expected.

He also said that when he was cooperating with prosecutors through the working group for collecting evidence, he asked them whether they were under pressure. They replied that there was no pressure and that they were working professionally, but that they did not know how the trial panel would act.

“So much evidence has been submitted that it would be a Copernican reversal for them to be acquitted, but we will see,” Drecun concluded.

Former KLA leaders Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi have been charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity. They have been held in detention in The Hague since their arrest in November 2020, while the trial began in April 2023.

The verdict will be handed down on September 16.