Kosovo’s Special Prosecutor’s Office has requested one month of pretrial detention for Fehim Sali, who is suspected of espionage and alleged cooperation with Serbia’s intelligence agency, BIA.
According to the detention request reviewed by KOHA, prosecutors allege that Sali was recruited by BIA and acted on the orders and instructions of a senior BIA official, identified as Želimir Matović, known by the nickname “Željko.”
Prosecutors allege that Sali provided information about the political situation in Kosovo and photographed and identified officials of Kosovo’s Intelligence Agency (AKI).
The prosecution further claims that Sali collected information on individuals belonging to the Wahhabi sect, as well as other people whom he allegedly presented to the BIA official as potential targets for contact and recruitment.
According to the request, Sali also maintained contacts with people with political and social influence in Serbia and Kosovo, including members of non-majority communities. Prosecutors allege that he provided some of them with guidance on political activities and how they should act.
Sali was arrested on Thursday morning at the Merdar border crossing while attempting to enter Serbia. Following his arrest, Kosovo Police and the Special Prosecutor’s Office searched his home in Dragash, where material evidence was reportedly seized.
He worked as a teacher at the Serbian-language “9 Maji” school in the village of Rapçë in Dragash and previously served two terms on Kosovo’s Consultative Council for Communities within the Office of the President. He was dismissed from the council in 2024.
Sali has previously been involved in political activity within the Gorani community. In March 2021, KOHA reported that he had been suspended from his teaching position after announcing his candidacy on the Gorani political initiative Zajeno.
At the time, Sali said he had received threats and faced pressure from another Gorani political entity, JGP, which he claimed had the support of parallel structures in Dragash and Srpska Lista. He also mentioned former Srpska Lista MP Jasmina Dedić in connection with the alleged threats.
Sali was later reinstated in his teaching position. KOHA subsequently reported that an earlier investigation into the matter had been closed after Sali was reportedly unwilling to testify following his return to work.
The latest allegations against Sali remain subject to judicial proceedings, and the request for detention does not constitute a final determination of guilt.
