Kosovo’s former President, Hashim Thaci, currently in detention at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague, was not permitted to attend the funeral in Kosovo on Tuesday of his father, who died just days after Thaci was granted a visit by the court.

Luka Misetic, Thaci’s lawyer, wrote on X on Tuesday that “Thaci will not be attending today’s funeral” even though “a request was made by Mr Thaci yesterday [on Monday] before 2pm to attend today’s funeral”.

Thaci is on trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity. He is also awaiting trial for obstruction of justice and tampering with witnesses in his ongoing case,

Haxhi Thaci, the father of the former president, was buried on Tuesday in the village of Buroje in Skenderaj/Srbica. Hashim Thaci’s son, Endrit, said at the funeral that his “grandfather never gave up in the face of illness.

Referring to Hashim Thaci’s final visit, he said his grandfather “waited every hour for the hospital door to open for him, he did not give up and came back to life several times. Three hours of conversation that day – they spent a lifetime, both father and son. Both sought freedom, liberation.”

Hashim Thaci visited his father at the University Clinical Centre of Kosovo on Thursday last week.

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers’ spokesperson, Michael Doyle, told BIRN at the time that the court had “instructed the Registry to manage a custodial visit to Kosovo for Hashim Thaci to be with his father”.

Kosovo’s Justice Minister, Albulena Haxhiu, criticised the decision to not allow Thaci to attend the funeral. She asked the court to take “immediate measures to ensure that his rights are not violated.

“We believe that this decision is unjust, and given the circumstances, it should be reconsidered. I ask you to address my concerns and to take immediate measures to ensure that Mr Thaci’s rights are not violated,” Haxhiu’s request to the Specialist Chambers read.

Ganimete Musliu, an MP from Thaci’s Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK, said the Specialist Chambers was “politized” and was “demonstrating force instead of justice … this is a shameful act that proves how far this court can go, which is shaming justice at its core”.

Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama also condemned the court as “shameful”.

Writing on X, Rama slated “a new low from a shameful and shameless tribunal that has turned international justice into a charade, democratic rights into empty words”.

In a statement, the Kosovo Specialist Chambers said the court does allow family visits on humanitarian grounds.

“The legal framework allows detainees to request a visit to Kosovo on compelling humanitarian grounds … So far, thirteen such visits by detainees to Kosovo have been … managed by the court, for example for a detainee to visit a sick relative or to pay their respects and spend time with close family members after the death of a relative,” it said.

It did not give any specifics on Thaci’s case, however. Instead, it added that the “requests by a detainee and the decisions on those requests are always initially confidential for reasons that include privacy and operational security.

“While such visits, when ordered by the judges, are organized as quickly as possible, this can take some time, requiring close coordination with a number of actors, and complex logistical arrangements, including flights and security,” it added.

Thaci was charged in 2020 with war crimes and crimes against humanity alongside fellow former Kosovo Liberation Army guerrillas Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi, and Rexhep Selimi.

In a separate case, in January, Thaci and four others were accused of obstruction of justice and witness intimidation. He has pleaded not guilty to both charges.

The Specialist Chambers were established in 2015 by the Kosovo Assembly and investigate the alleged crimes of members of the KLA, committed against ethnic minorities and political rivals in the years 1998-2000.

The Chambers are part of Kosovo’s judicial system but are located in the Netherlands and staffed by internationals, established under pressure from the country’s Western allies, who believe Kosovo’s own justice system is not robust enough to try KLA cases and protect witnesses from intimidation.

Many Kosovo Albanians believe the court is ethnically biased and denigrates the KLA’s just war against Serbian repression.