German ambassador calls for the verdict to be respected

Rainer Rudolph, Germany’s ambassador to Kosovo, has reacted following the announcement of the verdict by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague in the judicial case against Hashim Thaçi and others.

According to the ambassador, the trial focused on allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity. He emphasized that, as the presiding judge made clear when announcing the verdict, the Kosovo Liberation Army as an organization, nor its goal of Kosovo’s independence, was not on trial.

Rudolph said that Germany had supported the work of the Specialist Chambers from the outset, viewing it as an important contribution to addressing war crimes and crimes against humanity, strengthening the rule of law and bringing Kosovo closer to the European Union. He called on all parties to respect the judicial decision.

Below is the full statement by Germany’s ambassador to Kosovo regarding the announcement, on 16.09.26, of the verdict by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague in the case against Hashim Thaçi and others:

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers delivered their verdict today. The trial focused on charges related to war crimes and crimes against humanity. During the announcement of the decision, the presiding judge made clear that the trial did not concern the Kosovo Liberation Army as a whole, nor its aspiration to make Kosovo independent.

Germany’s support for the work of the Specialist Chambers has been consistent, based on the assessment that this work makes an important contribution to addressing war crimes and crimes against humanity, consolidating the rule of law and advancing Kosovo’s integration with the European Union.

Kosovo, as a sovereign and independent state, has shown that it is also fulfilling its responsibility to address war crimes, both through the establishment of the Specialist Chambers and through cooperation with the ICTY.

The verdict that was announced does not in any way absolve Yugoslav actors of responsibility for the armed conflict and the mass human rights violations against Kosovo’s population in the late 1990s. These violations were previously investigated by international courts and led to the intervention of the international community.

We call on all parties to accept and respect the verdict, and to show respect for the dignity of the victims.