Albanian Americans gathered outside United Nations headquarters in New York on Tuesday evening, September 22, to protest the Specialist Chambers’ verdict against four former leaders of the Kosova Liberation Army (KLA).

The rally took place at Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza in Manhattan, steps from the UN, as world leaders arrived in the city for the General Assembly. It was called by the “Freedom Has a Name” platform, which urged Albanians across the United States to join.

Protesters demanded a review of the ruling and the release of Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi. Placards read “Justice, not politics,” “Free our heroes” and “Heroes of war and peace.”

Others pointed to civilian victims of Serbian forces during the war, with one sign asking: “Where are the criminals who massacred 147 civilians in Izbica?”

Organisers described the protest as the voice of the diaspora and a tribute to the sacrifice of those who fought for Kosova’s freedom.

On September 16, the Hague-based court found the four men guilty of war crimes including arbitrary detention, cruel treatment, torture and murder, committed between April 1998 and June 1999 in Kosova and at two locations in Albania. All four were acquitted of crimes against humanity.

Thaçi and Krasniqi were sentenced to 25 years each, Veseli to 18 and Selimi to 13, a combined 81 years. The first-instance verdict is expected to be appealed.

New York is the latest stop in a wave of protests that has swept Kosova and the diaspora. Rallies have been held in Canada, Switzerland, Germany and Austria, and days earlier Albanians also gathered in Times Square. In Prishtina, protests entered their eighth day on Wednesday.

The Specialist Chambers were created under a 2015 law passed by the Kosova Assembly under pressure from Western allies. The court is part of Kosova’s justice system but sits in The Hague and is staffed by international judges.