Prosecutors in a war crimes trial on Monday sought a 45-year sentence for Kosovo's ex-president and guerrilla leader Hashim Thaci and three other former senior rebel figures, as the case in The Hague nears its end.
All four face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, over their alleged responsibility for killings, torture and other abuses committed by Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) members during the 1990s war with Serbia.
As the trial heard closing statements -- the last phase before it retires to decide its verdict -- specialist prosecutor Kimberly West said they were seeking the same lengthy sentence for all the men, who are all aged over 50.
"The gravity of the charges has not diminished with the passage of time," West told the court.
- A rebel leader turned statesman -
Thaci, 57, who wore a charcoal suit, white shirt, and red tie, listened as proceedings began.
Closing arguments from all parties are scheduled for this week and next -- with Thaci and his co-accused defence expected to begin delivering their statements later this week.
Thaci was the political leader of the KLA during the war against Serbia; the other three men held senior roles in the rebel group.
The hearing is scheduled to end by mid-February, and the court will have a month further to deliberate before delivering its verdict.
That deadline could be extended by two months under exceptional circumstances.
Thaci, who immediately resigned from the presidency after his indictment in 2020, and his co-accused pleaded not guilty at the opening of the trial.
They are all expected to do the same in their closing statements.
- Efforts to 'dilute' testimony -
Established by the country's parliament, the Kosovo Specialist Chambers investigates and prosecutes suspected war crimes committed by ethnic Albanian guerrillas during the war.
Although part of Kosovo's judicial system, it is physically located in The Hague and staffed solely by international judges and supporting staff in a bid to protect witnesses from possible retribution at home.
Still, West said that investigators had also uncovered "clear efforts" to "dilute, or otherwise influence certain testimony, in particular to the accused Hashim Thaci's benefit".
The indictment alleges that KLA members committed crimes against hundreds of civilians and non-combatants -- including Serbs, Roma and Kosovo Albanians deemed political opponents -- at detention sites in Kosovo and northern Albania.
"This case is about the four accused's goal to gain and exercise control over all of Kosovo," West said.
- 'Scandalous' -
In the Balkan nation's capital, where the men are still widely seen as heroes of the country's independence struggle, former KLA members gathered to watch the trial together on television.
The group's leader Hysni Gucati said the accusations levelled at the men were "scandalous".
"This only pleases Serbia, and all those who are against Kosovo," Gucati told local media from the veterans' downtown headquarters.
While the country's president Vjosa Osmani said any attempt to compare the KLA's "liberation war" with actions of the "genocidal Serbian aggressor" was harmful to long-term peace.
"The KLA's war was just and pure," she added.
"This truth cannot be changed by attempts to rewrite history and tarnish and devalue the struggle of the people of Kosovo for freedom."
A large march in Pristina to support the men is planned in the closing days of the hearings.
