Watch: Defence for Kosovo ex-president Thaci makes opening statements in war crimes trial

Defence lawyers for Hashim Thaci made opening statements on the second day of his trial for alleged war crimes trial at The Hague on Tuesday, 4 April.

Kosovo’s ex-president and three other high-ranking ex-leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) are accused of being members of a criminal organisation that abducted and mistreated perceived opponents during the KLA revolt against the security forces of then Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic.

The insurgency, in which more than 13,000 people are believed to have died, eventually brought independence from Serbia and made Thaci a hero among compatriots.

Milosevic went on trial before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) but died in 2006 before a verdict was reached.

The 54-year-old and the three co-defendants have pleaded not guilty to all 10 counts.

“I understand the indictment and I am fully not guilty,” Thaci told the court on Monday.

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