Ex-Kosovo president tells judges he is not guilty of war crimes

Former Kosovo president Hashim Thaci is on trial (Koen van Weel/Pool via AP)

Former Kosovo president Hashim Thaci has insisted he is an innocent man as he addressed a panel of international judges hearing his trial on 10 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

At the end of his lawyers’ opening statement to the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, Thaci stood up and told black-robed judges that he expects evidence to lead to his acquittal, saying that “victims do not obtain justice when the innocent are pursued”.