Protesters clashed with police outside Kosovo's parliament in Pristina on Monday, October 5, 2026, as lawmakers debated a controversial bill to limit the powers of the Hague-based war crimes court that recently sentenced former Kosovo president Hashim Thaçi to 25 years in prison. Police fired tear gas and used water cannon; demonstrators threw stones and firecrackers. At least 17 people were injured, including six police officers, and three protesters were detained.
What Happened in Pristina
The demonstration was organized by Kosovo Liberation Army veterans' groups and their supporters, who gathered outside the government and parliament buildings demanding that lawmakers pass amendments curbing the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, the Hague-based court established under Kosovo law with EU and US backing to prosecute war crimes from the 1998–99 war with Serbia. The confrontation escalated in the afternoon, with police deploying tear gas and a water cannon after protesters threw firecrackers and stones at the parliament building.
Parliament passed the bill in a first reading on October 5 but adjourned before a second vote. The proposed legislation is also entangled in Kosovo's presidential politics: PDK leader Bedri Hamza conditioned his party's 22 votes for a consensus presidential candidate on the amendments passing two readings, ahead of an October 6 constitutional deadline.
The Sentences That Sparked It
On September 16, the Specialist Chambers sentenced former president Hashim Thaçi to 25 years, Kadri Veseli to 18 years, Rexhep Selimi to 13 years, and Jakup Krasniqi to 25 years — a combined 81 years — for war crimes including murder, torture, and illegal detention during the 1998–99 conflict. Prosecutors had requested 45-year terms. On September 28, Kosovo's parliament voted 99–0 to condemn the judgment, and veterans' groups called the sentences an insult to the liberation struggle.
What the Law Would Change
The amendments would cap sentences at 15 years, allow appeals to Kosovo's Supreme Court, permit convicts to serve their terms in Kosovo rather than abroad, allow presidential amnesty, and restrict the court's jurisdiction to crimes committed in Kosovo in the immediate aftermath of the war — stripping it of jurisdiction over wartime crimes themselves. Backers say the changes correct excessive punishment of men they regard as liberation heroes; critics say the court was created precisely to deliver accountability and that rewriting its powers for the benefit of convicted allies undermines the rule of law.
Both Sides Dig In
Prime Minister Albin Kurti criticized the speed of the process, saying, "We consider these moves to amend the law on the Specialist Chambers rushed and insufficiently analysed and thought through." His party backed the first reading but declined a same-day second vote. Serbian officials, meanwhile, have argued the Hague sentences were too lenient compared with the victims' suffering — a reminder that any verdict in the Balkan wars satisfies no one.
With the second reading still pending and the presidential deadline pressing, the dispute is far from over — and Monday's tear gas showed how quickly Kosovo's unresolved wartime past can turn into a present-day street fight.
🎵 Reel soundtrack: "Hitman" by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 3.0 — incompetech.com), licensed via Creative Commons BY 3.0.
Sources: Reuters — Kosovo parliament protest coverage, Oct 5, 2026; IBNA — Kosovo Specialist Chambers coverage; Euronews — Kosovo war crimes court coverage.