The retrial of Bedri Shabani and Muharrem Qerimi, who are accused of espionage on behalf of Serbia’s Security Intelligence Agency (BIA), has begun, with both defendants again pleading not guilty to the charges against them.
In his opening statement, Special Prosecutor Bekim Kodraliu said the evidence presented during the proceedings would demonstrate that the defendants had assisted and served the Serbian intelligence agency, allegedly threatening Kosovo’s constitutional order and the security of its citizens.
“The Special Prosecution has filed an indictment against Bedri Shabani and Muharrem Qerimi, who are each charged with the criminal offense of espionage. Muharrem Qerimi is also charged with unauthorized possession of weapons, an offense to which he pleaded guilty during the initial hearing,” Kodraliu said.
The prosecutor argued that the BIA conducts espionage activities in Kosovo and said the prosecution had concrete evidence to support its allegations.
According to Kodraliu, the evidence includes more than 30 police reports, a report from the Kosovo Forensic Agency, official confirmations from the Kosovo Intelligence Agency (KIA), records of border crossings into Serbia and returns to Kosovo on the same day, as well as documents, photographs and diagrams.
He also referred to material allegedly found in Bedri Shabani’s possession, which the prosecution claims was used to link the Kosovo Liberation Army’s (KLA) military hospital in Mollopolc, near Shtime, to the so-called “Yellow House” in Albania, an allegation associated with claims of organ trafficking.
The prosecution alleges that Shabani assisted the BIA from an unspecified date until his arrest on June 5, 2024, by collecting and transmitting information, documents and books concerning the KLA and its activities. According to the indictment, he communicated with BIA official Sërgjan Rosić through telephone calls and in-person meetings.
The indictment further alleges that Shabani transmitted information to Rosić, who was responsible for the agency’s Pančevo region, and to Bogoljub Janićević, a former Serbian police commander for the Ferizaj region during the Kosovo war.
According to the prosecution, the alleged exchanges concerned KLA members and commanders, the military hospital in Mollopolc, and the 1999 massacre in Reçak.
The prosecution claims that the alleged activities were intended to promote a false narrative connecting the KLA hospital with the so-called “Yellow House” in Burrel, Albania, and to cast doubt on the circumstances of the Reçak massacre. It further alleges that the defendants sought operational action that could provoke a broader interethnic conflict in Kosovo.
Shabani is charged with espionage under Article 124, paragraph 3, of Kosovo’s Criminal Code.
Qerimi Also Faces Unauthorized Weapons Possession Charge
Muharrem Qerimi is accused of assisting the BIA from 2012 until his arrest on June 5, 2024, by collecting and transmitting information and documents concerning the KLA, Kosovo Police officials, the Kosovo Intelligence Agency, the Police Inspectorate of Kosovo and witnesses in cases before the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague.
According to the indictment, Qerimi allegedly passed the information to Rosić through telephone communications and in-person meetings in Serbia. The prosecution maintains that these activities endangered Kosovo’s constitutional order and the security of its citizens.
Qerimi is also charged with unauthorized possession of weapons. The indictment states that during a search on June 5, 2024, police found a firearm identified as an Ekol Tuna pistol, a magazine, six cartridges, an additional 20 cartridges marked “11/53,” and four other magazines bearing a crescent-and-circle marking. The items were seized by Kosovo Police.
He faces charges under Article 366, paragraph 1, of the Criminal Code concerning unauthorized ownership, control or possession of weapons.
The Special Prosecution of the Republic of Kosovo filed the indictment against both men on February 19, 2025. The indictment has been upheld by both the Basic Court and the Court of Appeals.
Previous hearings in the case, including proceedings on January 28 and 29, 2026, and the latest session on April 30, were held behind closed doors.
The charges remain allegations, and both defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty by a final court judgment.
