On 03.10.2026, large numbers of citizens gathered on Saturday evening in Pristina’s Skanderbeg Square. It was the 18th consecutive night of protests against the decision by the Specialist Chambers in The Hague to sentence four former KLA leaders. Participants called the verdict unjust and demanded changes to the Law on the Specialist Chambers.
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Earlier in the day, the “Freedom Has a Name” platform held an action outside the Assembly of Kosovo, calling on MPs to convene an extraordinary session to consider the legal amendments.
After the protest, participants in the “Not in My Name” initiative marched toward one of the entrances to the Assembly of Kosovo. Carrying banners and KLA symbols, they chanted “Vote for the law” and demanded that amendments to the law on the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague be approved without delay.
Outside the Assembly, protesters read out the names of 110 MPs one by one, urging them to vote for the bill. They said only three days remained before the deadline for electing the president, so the vote on the amendments should not be delayed further. They called for concrete action by institutions to defend the KLA and those who fought for liberation.
Addressing those gathered on the 18th night of the protest, Çlirim Haziri, organizer of the nightly “Not in My Name” rallies, urged MPs to vote for the law. He said the Assembly owed this step to the KLA and its fallen fighters: in his view, their sacrifice, wounds and blood had contributed to building the state. Haziri stressed that the demand did not stem from fear of justice, but from opposition to presenting an injustice as justice. He added that MPs owed Kosovo a president and the KLA the law.
On September 16, the Specialist Chambers sentenced Hashim Thaçi and Jakup Krasniqi to 25 years in prison each, Kadri Veseli to 18 years and Rexhep Selimi to 13 years. On October 2, the Kosovo government stated that the PDK’s initiative to amend the Law on the Specialist Chambers faced no legal obstacles.
The proposed amendments have not yet been approved by the Assembly. The PDK has said it will make its support for electing the president conditional on their approval. The constitutional deadline for electing the president expires on October 6.
