THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A European Union-backed court on Wednesday convicted former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci of four counts of war crimes committed during his country’s war for independence from Serbia and sentenced him to 25 years in prison.

Thaci, who is 58, resigned from office nearly six years ago to face the charges. He was convicted by a panel of judges at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers of murder, torture, cruel treatment and arbitrary detention. Both he and the prosecutors, who had asked for a stricter sentence, can appeal.

The judgment was a crushing blow for a man who was once embraced by the West, invited to the 1999 peace talks in France and seen as the leader who could guide Kosovo to independence.

Presiding Judge Charles Smith painted a very different picture, however, saying that Thaci actively participated in and encouraged crimes, including by promoting individuals involved in crimes.”

Thaci “showed a ruthless ability to remove and eliminate political impediments” to his and other commanders' leadership, Smith added.

Wearing a suit and tie, Thaci stood in silence as Smith read out the sentence.

Supporters swiftly slam Thaci's verdict

Kosovo Foreign Minister Glauk Konjufca condemned the verdicts. “This is a terrible judgment for Kosovo, for our people and for our liberation war,” he said.

Hundreds of supporters waited at a park near the courthouse in The Hague, and some clashed briefly with Dutch riot police.

In Kosovo's capital, Pristina, thousands of people watched the hearing live on a huge screen and were stunned at the sentence. Some started shouting “UCK,” the Albanian-language acronym for the Kosovo Liberation Army that Thaci once led before entering politics.

One supporter, Bekim Fetahu, said the verdict was “a catastrophic decision.”

“They (judges) have put the victims together with the aggressors,” Fetahu added.

Smith, the presiding judge, said Thaci “used his position, leadership, authority and standing” to encourage crimes and failed to investigate or punish abuse by KLA fighters.

However, the American judge also stressed that the trial was “not about the legitimacy of the Kosovo Liberation Army” or its ultimate goal of securing independence for Kosovo, which at the time was a province in Serbia.

Thaci was on trial with three other former KLA leaders who fought Serb forces in the 1998-99 war. They pleaded not guilty to all charges against them, and are widely regarded as national heroes in Kosovo.

The four were acquitted on six charges of crimes against humanity because the judges said the prosecutors failed to prove that crimes were committed as part of a widespread and systematic attack on civilians.

They were found guilty of the war crimes of the arbitrary detention of 385 people, cruel treatment of 49, torture of 303 detainees and the murder of 96 people.

The prosecutors had asked for a maximum 45-year prison sentence for Thaci and the other defendants, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi. All denied the charges against them. Veseli was sentenced to 18 years, Selimi to 13 years and Krasniqi to 25 years in prison.

Thaci was defiant to the end of his trial

Thousands of people rallied in Pristina, Kosovo's capital, over the weekend in support of the four men. The protesters filled a central square in the capital, many carrying red and black Albanian flags.

Portraits of the four former KLA fighters have been plastered across the city along with a huge digital clock counting down to Wednesday's verdicts.

As his trial ended in February, Thaci told judges: “Throughout my life, I stood with the people of Kosovo defending freedom, life and dignity. I was always guided by the Western ideals of democracy, equality and justice.”

But the court ruled that Thaci and his co-defendants targeted political opponents and civilians perceived as collaborators and traitors during their time in the KLA.

“In reality, there is no indication that the victims in this case were spies or collaborators,” Smith said. Just having “Serbian friends or jobs in Serbian companies was enough to treat them as collaborators” of the enemy.

When fighting broke out, Thaci was a student who returned from what he described as political exile in Switzerland to join Kosovo’s struggle for independence. He earned the nickname “the Snake” for his ability to evade Serb forces during the conflict.

Thaci rose to political power after the war but resigned as president to defend himself before the court in The Hague.

Most of the 13,000 people who died in the war in Kosovo were ethnic Albanians. A 78-day campaign of NATO airstrikes against Serbian forces ended the fighting. About 1 million ethnic Albanian Kosovars were driven from their homes.

In 2008, Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia, a move that Belgrade refuses to recognize. Ties between Kosovo and Serbia remain tense, despite years of EU-mediated negotiations supported by the United States.

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Associated Press reporters Zana Cimili in Pristina, Kosovo, and Molly Quell in The Hague, Netherlands, contributed to this report.

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