Liberal MP Anita Vandenbeld has documented ties to former Kosovo president Hashim Thaçi, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison this week after being convicted of war crimes.
Thaçi, Kosovo’s president from 2016 to 2020 and a former senior leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army, was convicted Wednesday by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague.
The court found him responsible for war crimes involving the detention of 385 people, cruel treatment of 49, torture of 303 and the murder of 96 during the Kosovo conflict.
Thaçi was sentenced to 25 years, with credit for time served. He was acquitted of crimes against humanity and some other allegations and will be able to appeal the decision.
Years before the verdict, Thaçi awarded Vandenbeld Kosovo’s Presidential Medal of Merit.
An official record from Kosovo’s presidency lists “Anita Vandenbeld (Canada)” as receiving the medal from Thaçi on Sept. 9, 2016.
Vandenbeld, who represents Ottawa West—Nepean, also worked in Kosovo before entering Canadian politics.
During Thaçi’s 2017 visit to Canada, Vandenbeld said she had been seconded by the Canadian government to the OSCE mission in Kosovo in 2007-08, where she advised Kosovo’s assembly and emerging democratic institutions.
Addressing Thaçi at a House of Commons foreign affairs committee meeting on November 21, 2017, Vandenbeld welcomed him personally.
“Thank you very much, Mr. President, for being here in Canada and before our committee. It is a particular honour for me to welcome you here,” she said.
Vandenbeld said she was “very impressed” by Kosovo’s institutional progress and recalled witnessing its 2008 declaration of independence.
“I will never forget that day, February 17, almost 10 years ago now,” she said.
Vandenbeld also helped organize a ceremony during Thaçi’s visit.
“I’d like to thank my colleague Anita for organizing it,” then-Conservative MP Erin O’Toole said during the committee meeting.
The following day, Vandenbeld formally welcomed Thaçi in the House of Commons.
“It is my honour, today, to welcome to Canada the President of the Republic of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi,” Vandenbeld told MPs.
“It is impressive to see how far Kosovo has come in developing pluralistic, multi-ethnic, inclusive democratic institutions, including strong gender representation.
“I look forward to this visit deepening the ties of friendship between our two countries,” she added.
The interactions occurred years before Thaçi was indicted or convicted.
Thaçi was indicted by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in 2020 and resigned as president that November after the indictment was confirmed. He maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings.
Thaçi’s prosecution remains contentious in Kosovo, where supporters and some officials have criticized the proceedings and rallied in his support.
The Kosovo Specialist Chambers, established under Kosovo law but based in The Hague, prosecutes crimes tied to the Kosovo Liberation Army during and after the 1998-99 conflict.
The public record does not establish a personal friendship between Vandenbeld and Thaçi, but it documents their interactions years before his war crime conviction.
Juno News sought clarification from Vandenbeld but did not receive a response by publication.
Once again a Liberal is associated with criminals. She needs to be removed from the House.
Kosovo, Ukraine, Iran, the EU...there's no depths of association to which Liberals will not stoop if it means winning a little personal reward. These are despicable people with absolutely zero moral compass or ethics other than self-aggrandizement. It started with Trudeau 1 and has never stopped. Disgusting!