A ruling by the Basic Court in Pristina has shed new light on how, according to the court, Jelena Gjukanović, a former OSCE employee in Kosovo, allegedly provided detailed information to Aleksandar Vlajić, who was also convicted of espionage and identified as an agent of Serbia’s BIA intelligence service.
Gjukanović was sentenced to six years in prison for espionage. According to the ruling, her activities continued from 2018 until Vlajić’s arrest on June 26, 2024.
The court document, obtained by KOHA, describes an ongoing flow of information through which, according to the court, the BIA obtained insight into political, institutional and security developments in northern Kosovo.
The information allegedly included internal OSCE discussions in Mitrovica, developments concerning North Mitrovica Mayor Dragisha Milović, activities involving Adriana Hodžić, and discussions held at meetings and conferences concerning Kosovo.
However, according to the ruling, the information went beyond political developments. Vlajić also requested information about Kosovo Police units, and the court says Gjukanović agreed to make efforts to obtain it.
The court found that the information was allegedly transmitted regularly and in real time. According to its assessment, this enabled the BIA to develop a broader picture of the situation in the north, including institutional activities, police movements, positions of international organizations and developments within the local community.
Another significant element of the ruling concerns personal data. The court says Gjukanović provided information about individuals working for the OSCE, including details concerning their residences, workplaces, telephone numbers and activities.
According to the court, the level of detail and the nature of the information could not reasonably be considered accidental. It concluded that Gjukanović knew where the information was going and that her actions were intended to assist a foreign intelligence service.
The ruling further states that her position within the OSCE gave her access to information of potential interest to the BIA, particularly given the sensitive relationship between Kosovo and Serbia.
The Basic Court ultimately characterized the conduct as deliberate, repeated and directly connected to assisting Serbia’s intelligence and security agency. Her official position and the prolonged nature of the activity were considered aggravating circumstances, while the fact that she had no previous criminal convictions and her personal circumstances were considered mitigating factors.
The case also raises broader questions about institutional security and how information collected within international organizations can potentially be exploited by foreign intelligence services.
If the ruling stands, the Gjukanović case represents one of the most detailed publicly documented examples of how, according to a Kosovo court, an intelligence network linked to the BIA sought to gather information about developments in northern Kosovo.
