Escalation: Thaci supporters rally before verdict
Thousands filled Pristina’s central square on September 12 to back former president Hashim Thaci and co-defendants Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi, four days before their verdict. Crowds waved Albanian and KLA flags and held portraits of the four while banners demanded acquittal and the men’s return. Chants of the KLA initials rang out, and a giant screen downtown has been counting down to sentencing day for weeks.
The March for Freedom began at 2 p.m. at Skenderbeu Square after people started arriving from 10 a.m. It was organized by the Freedom Has A Name platform and featured addresses from KLA veterans leader Hysni Gucati and opposition leaders Bedri Hamza and Ardian Gjini, alongside family members and performers. North Macedonia’s Ali Ahmeti attended, while invited party chiefs Albin Kurti and Lumir Abdixhiku did not.
Turnout descriptions ranged from thousands on the ground to organizer claims of 200,000 to 300,000. Police closed streets around the central squares for the event and reported no incidents. Supporters traveled in from towns across Kosovo, from Albania via the Morina crossing, and from the diaspora, including Switzerland.
Synthesized from 18 sources
AFP.comNorthwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazettehttps://globalpost.com/The Killeen Daily Heraldsrpske.rsAPOskaloosaReutersconnectGoshennewsWaltontribuneWashington PostBalkaninsightReutersThestandardIndependentSrpskeInklTvcnews
AI-synthesized from multiple reported sources
In the app
Read this update in Frameshift
Four stories are free on the web. The full Vault, with every timeline and brief, is in the app.