Hashim Thaci's full speech in Special

He has told the court that he feels pity for all the victims of war, but has added that the victims do not receive justice when the innocent are pursued.

During his sworn-in statement at the courtroom, Thaci has said he is innocent of all charges.

This is former President Hashim Thaci's speech:

Today we are embarking on a journey together, a path to truth and justice.

Truth and justice are precious principles for me, they are the cornerstone of all democracies and the foundation of peace.

Let me take advantage of this moment, show that I feel pity and pain for all victims of this terrible war, regardless of ethnic, religious or political affiliation.

Victims don't get justice when the innocent are followed. An injustice is not followed by another injustice.

I am innocent of all charges, ready to face this challenge and succeed for my family, my people and my country.

Our journey to freedom was long and very difficult. I was a student in Switzerland, a political shelter when the Jashar family was slaughtered in 1998. Like many Albanians from the diaspora, I came back to help my country. Whoever was in our country would do the same if their freedom was removed.

The KLA consisted of ordinary people, volunteers who tried to protect their families. They fought and died as heroes.

That was the price of freedom. Thousands of families lost loved ones in hundreds of massacres committed by Serbian forces.

Our opponents were the army, police and Serb paramilitaries forged in their Bosnia assassination campaigns.

Both peaceful and armed resistance had the same goal: freedom, citizenship, and democratic order. Without that widespread resistance, Kosovo would not exist today.

Kosovo citizens did not want war, they were defined. The war was imposed on him.

They did what every free - loving people would do. So we were on the right side of history.

Today I am happy that the people of Kosovo live free and independent. Kosovo is a success confession.

Honored justice disgrace,

During this process we will travel back in time, to events that took place 25 years ago. Twenty-five years ago it was clouded. The reality is being charged with different agendas, speculations are turning into facts. Also, emotions or political resentment should not be understood as facts in this room.

As in any democratic society and in us, not every collaborator has been a fellow soldier or a co-minded fellow in the post-war processes. In few cases, ambition, personal ego, exceeded the truth about UCK confession. People remember what they want to believe is true. But we have a historical record available back then. We must go back to those evidence that the truth will be revealed there.

I'm sorry we can't hear the evidence of Secretary Albright, Secretary Roubin Cook, Ambassador Richard Holbrook, President Ibrahim Rugova, Adem Demac and other leaders.

They would have testified in my name about what I said during that important time.

I am happy that many others, such as local and international, are willing to testify to my innocence.

We in Kosovo knew. We in Kosovo have supported international justice.

When Dick Marty's report filled media headlines with allegations of organ trafficking, I asked the international community to investigate independently.

The world now knows that today, as a result of this process, there were no organ trafficking and that the yellow house never existed.

I... The KLA and the people of Kosovo have been acquitted of these charges. The truth has been said and the black cloud on Kosovo has been removed. This sacrifice is worth it.

I expect to be acquitted of any charges at the end of this process.

This is the fourth court after The Hague, U n NMIC, EULEX and Specialised Chambers. I've been interviewed by all these international mechanisms, every collaboration of mine has been in the interest of justice and completely transparent. Everything else said is unstable. I am confident that this process will be fair, transparent and fast.