Once feted by Tony Blair and Madeleine Albright, Hashim Thaçi stands accused in The Hague of complicity in torture and murder | The Guardian - April 10, 2023 |

A quarter of a century ago, in the midst of the war in Kosovo and in its aftermath, senior international figures beat a path to the door of Hashim Thaçi, the Kosovo Liberation Army commander who would later become the country's most prominent politician.

Thaçi hosted the former UK prime minister Tony Blair, one of the KLA's most prominent international supporters. He met the late Liberal Democrat leader Sir Paddy Ashdown for a beer. Madeleine Albright, then US secretary of state, was a vocal admirer, and Hillary Clinton met Thaçi later when she occupied the same position.

Last week, however, Thaçi - who served as both prime minister and president of Kosovo - appeared in the dock of a Hague court alongside three prominent colleagues, all accused of war crimes committed during the conflict, including complicity in the murder of 102 people.