Christopher Hill: The 25-year prison sentence surprised and disappointed me

Former US special envoy for Kosovo Christopher Hill has commented on the verdict issued by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague against former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army, expressing surprise and disappointment over the sentences handed down.

During an interview on the program “Now with Erla Mëhilli,” Hill spoke from the United States about the first-instance decision, as well as the testimony he had given in The Hague in support of Hashim Thaçi.

He said that it had not been easy for him to predict the outcome of the trial, while the 25-year prison sentence had deeply surprised and disappointed him.

Hill recalled that he had testified in Thaçi’s defense at the Hague Tribunal. According to him, during the war, the former president of Kosovo had tried to find a peaceful solution to the situation.

Although he described the verdict as disappointing, the US diplomat stressed that it was a court decision. He said that the next step was to await further actions by the defense teams.

Hill also spoke about the structure of the KLA during the war, saying that its organization was not as centralized and integrated as had been claimed.

According to him, the KLA was much less organized than its own members portrayed it as being, while the idea that it operated in an integrated manner from the lowest to the highest levels had never convinced him.

He explained that, at that time, his duty as a US diplomat was to find a path to peace, guarantee people’s rights and enable progress.

Christopher Hill was one of the defense witnesses in the trial in The Hague against Hashim Thaçi and the others. On September 16, 2026, Thaçi and Jakup Krasniqi were sentenced to 25 years in prison each, Kadri Veseli to 18 years, and Rexhep Selimi to 13 years. The ruling is a first-instance decision and may be appealed.