WIKIPEDIA REMOVES CONVICTED WAR CRIMINAL FROM THAҪI'S BIOGRAPHY

BELGRADE, SEPTEMBER 29 /SRNA/ - Online encyclopedia Wikipedia has removed from the introductory section of the biography of former KLA leader Hashim Thaçi the description of him as a convicted war criminal.

The wording was removed from almost all of the 65 language versions, including the Serbian Cyrillic version, although as of noon today it remained in the Croatian- and Russian-language versions. Before the change, Thaçi's biography began with the sentence: "Hashim Thaçi is a Kosovo politician and convicted war criminal". That description had been added after what the article states was a first-instance judgment by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague sentencing him to 25 years in prison for war crimes. In the new version, Thaçi is described as a "Kosovo politician", followed by a list of the positions he has held. Information about the court proceedings remains further down in the biography, but the description of him as having been convicted of war crimes is no longer included in the introduction. The article states that on September 16, the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague sentenced four former KLA leaders to a combined 81 years in prison for war crimes. Hashim Thaçi and Jakup Krasniqi were each sentenced to 25 years in prison, while Kadri Veseli received an 18-year sentence and Rexhep Selimi was sentenced to 13 years, according to the article. The Specialist Prosecutor's Office in The Hague recently requested an additional six-year prison sentence for Thaçi for obstruction of justice, without credit for time already spent in detention. If the request is granted, Thaçi could face a total sentence of 31 years in prison.