European Union judges in Kosovo sentenced for former Kosovo-Albanian militants responsible for war crimes during the pro-independence uprising in 1998.
Two of the militants sentenced were close to the former prime minister Hashim Thaci were sentenced by the EU mission.
The mission was established after Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008.
The prosecutions have been a sensitive matter as several Kosovan fighters are lauded has war time heroes by the state.
One of the former militants prosecuted was the current Kosovan ambassador to Albania, Sylejman Selimi, who headed a 2,500 people paramilitary force.
Over 10,000 ethnic Albanians were killed in the conflict between the KLA and forces loyal to the Serbian president Molosevic’s forces, reports Reuters.