PRISTINA: Thousands rallied across Kosovo late Friday against last week’s sentencing of former president Hashim Thaci and several close associates for war crimes during the 1990s fight for independence from Serbia.

Former guerrilla fighters called protests in nine cities, expanding demonstrations beyond Pristina, where rallies have been held nightly since Thaci was sentenced to 25 years.

Many in Kosovo view the verdict as unjust saying the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), which he once led, fought against Serbian oppression.

Demonstrators chanted Kosovo Liberation Army and denounced the jailing of Thaci. Many wore military fatigues and waved the KLA’s crimson, black and gold flag.

“I came from Switzerland to take part in the protest,” former KLA member Bajram Shala said in the southern town of Ferizaj.

“It is a stain on the nation’s history.”

The Netherlands-based Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC) found Thaci and three other former KLA leaders criminally responsible for murders, illegal arrests, torture and cruel treatment committed by KLA fighters during the conflict.

The war claimed some 13,000 lives and ended only after a NATO bombing forced Serbia to pull out.

Protesters accuse the court — established under Kosovo law but based in The Hague — of political bias and criticize its use of evidence supplied by Serbia, which does not recognize Kosovo’s independence.

“We oppose the court’s verdict against our heroes,” Drenas mayor Ramiz Lladrovci told a crowd in the central Kosovo town.

“We ask the institutions to come to the defense of our heroes,” he added.

Thaci, the KLA’s political leader, was sentenced alongside former senior guerrilla figures Jakup Krasniqi, Rexhep Selimi and Kadri Veseli.

Krasniqi received 25 years, Veseli 18 and Selimi 13. All four said they would appeal.

Thaci resigned as president and surrendered to the court after his 2020 indictment. He has remained in detention in The Hague ever since, with his time served counted toward his sentence.

Kosovo’s government swiftly condemned the ruling, with Prime Minister Albin Kurti calling it “unacceptable” and pledging support for the convicted men through the appeals process.