Wrote: Etrit Rexhepi
A video material is published, with the caption claiming that former Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi, who is being tried in The Hague on charges of crimes against humanity, has been sentenced to life imprisonment.
The claim was posted yesterday (September 23) on TikTok by an account named "pograddeccii".
What is the truth?
The trial of former President Thaçi is continuing and no decision has yet been made by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers based in The Hague.
in video In this case, it is alleged that Thaçi received a 37-year sentence.
Hibrid.info has researched for information and in the latest announcements, on the website of the "Specialized Chambers and the Special Prosecutor's Office", no announcement has been found confirming the conclusion of the former president's trial (see here).
Hibrid.info has also come across an article published (September 21) by the news agency, “ekonomiaonline.com”, which reports that the spokesperson for the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague, Michael Doyle, has stated that the Prosecution is expected to call all its witnesses against the former KLA leaders who are being tried in The Hague, by April next year (see here).
Another piece of information that can be viewed with suspicion is the claim about the number of years of imprisonment imposed (37 years) for Thaçi. According to the Law on Specialized Chambers and the Specialized Prosecutor's Office, the sentence imposed against the declared persons guilty of crimes under Article 14(2) is consistent with the penalties for crimes set out in the 2012 Criminal Code of Kosovo.
While in the Criminal Code of year 2019, for criminal offenses for which the law provides for a life sentence, the court may impose a sentence of imprisonment of up to thirty-five (35) years, in the Criminal Code of year 2012, there is no such definition.
Which means that the claim about the years of sentence imposed on Thaçi is inaccurate.
Analyze:
The claim that former Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi has been sentenced to life imprisonment (37 years) by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers is not true.
Hibrid.info has found that Thaçi is still being tried and that the sentence that could be imposed, if the law provides for a life sentence for him, is 35 years.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses this content as "Fake News".
Reasoning:
The “Fake News” rating is given to informational content that is entirely fabricated or that contains factually incorrect claims or information. Content that is rated as fake news can be defined as having been created and distributed with the intent to misinform the public, i.e., to present a claim that is completely false as fact.