Wrote: Etrit Rexhepi
A video has been published, showing part of a speech by former Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi, who is in custody in The Hague, which is alleged to be a response to the testimony of witness Fadil Geci (see here).
This content was found published on TikTok by an account named "lajmifundit3", which posted this video yesterday (October 24).
Really?
Hibrid.info has found that after witness Geci's testimony, there was no response from former President Thaçi.
This video has received over 150 thousand views, as of the time of treatment.
Thaçi's transcribed statement from the content discussed:
"I am innocent of all these charges. Yes, I am ready to face this new challenge, to succeed for my family, for my people and my country. Our road to freedom was long and very difficult. I was a student in Switzerland, a political refugee, when the Jashari family was massacred in March 1998. Like many Albanians from the diaspora, I returned to help my country and joined the resistance for freedom in Kosovo. Anyone who would have been in our country would have done the same thing, when their freedom was taken away".
Based on announcements on the website of the Specialist Chambers and the Kosovo Special Prosecutor's Office based in The Hague, it is understood that witness Fadil Geci was among the last witnesses to testify in the trial against Thaçi and others (see here).
From the verification of the content discussed, it is understood that Thaçi did not mention the name of the witness in question.
Hibrid.info has researched using the online search engine, "Google", asking for possible statements by Thaçi, in response to witness Geci, but has not come across any such (see here).
Since the searches have not resulted in evidence supporting the claim addressed, hibrid.info has conducted research to find the publication time of Thaçi's reported speech.
Hibrid.info has found that this statement by Thaçi was taken from his speech, after the presentation of the charges to the prosecution in The Hague, where the former president is being held in custody as accused of war crimes. Thaçi had declared his innocence, last year (2023), on April 4 (see here and here). From the 70th second of the video of Thaçi's full speech, comparing it with the video material published on TikTok, it can be understood that this content is detached from this statement by Thaçi, made in 2023 (see here).
Witness Fadil Geci spoke in court about the 59th KLA Communiqué, where the witness's brother, Gani Geci, is labeled a traitor.
Thaçi's only statement on this matter, given to the Specialist Prosecutor's Office, was revealed at the main hearing in the Specialist Chambers, during the testimony of witness Geci (see here).
Analyze:
The claim that former President Hashim Thaçi responded to witness Fadil Geci during the latter's testimony at the Special Court is incorrect.
Thaçi's presented speech is old and is not addressed to any individual.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses this content as "Disinformation".
Reasoning:
"Disinformation" is defined as information content that contains a "mix" of inaccurate sources or even half-truthful attributes, and that is created and/or distributed with the deliberate intention of causing harm. The motive behind the producers/distributors of disinformation content lies in achieving a political, financial, psychological or social goal.