Kosovo Special Prosecutor Bekim Kodraliu says authorities have identified seven espionage cases involving individuals allegedly recruited by Serbia’s intelligence agency, BIA, with four convictions already handed down.
Speaking to RTK, Kodraliu said the Special Prosecution Office has been investigating alleged Serbian intelligence recruitment activities for the past two years in cooperation with the Kosovo Intelligence Agency (KIA) and the Kosovo Police.
“More specifically, so far we have seven espionage cases involving several individuals who are suspected of having been recruited by structures of the Serbian Intelligence Agency (BIA),” Kodraliu said.
According to the prosecutor, four convictions have been issued in espionage-related cases, two of which have already become final.
He identified Aleksandër Vlajiq and Bojan Jevtiq as two individuals whose convictions are final after both admitted guilt in the cases brought against them.
Kodraliu said the cases were particularly sensitive because of the positions the two men had previously held within the Kosovo Police.
“One was a lieutenant in the Kosovo Police, specifically at the Kamenica border crossing, while the other was a police intelligence officer in northern Mitrovica,” he said.
He added that their positions were among the reasons prosecutors moved quickly to secure evidence.
Kodraliu said the case against Vlajiq was initially connected to his conviction over the December 2022 terrorist attack on the offices of the Municipal Election Commission in Mitrovica. Evidence discovered during an examination of his phones subsequently led investigators to open an espionage case.
“From the examination of the phones of the convicted Aleksandër Vlajiq, we identified sufficient evidence to initiate an espionage case,” Kodraliu said.
He added that additional evidence presented in court established, according to the prosecution, that Vlajiq had been recruited by Serbia’s intelligence service through an individual responsible for BIA activities in the Novi Pazar region.
The investigation also led to criminal proceedings against a female official from northern Mitrovica who had worked with the OSCE mission in Kosovo. Kodraliu said she was convicted at first instance and that her case is currently before the Court of Appeals.
Because the proceedings remain ongoing, the prosecutor said he would refrain from providing further details.
Kodraliu also addressed the case of Fatmir Sheholli, saying prosecutors allege that he provided assistance to Serbia’s intelligence service, specifically to a senior BIA counterterrorism official identified as Bojan Dimiq.
According to Kodraliu, Sheholli allegedly assisted in implementing a mission aimed at damaging the reputation of several political figures in Kosovo ahead of elections.
“Fatmir Sheholli provided assistance to the Serbian intelligence service, specifically to senior BIA counterterrorism official Bojan Dimiq, in implementing a mission aimed at damaging several political figures in Kosovo,” Kodraliu said.
He added that the alleged operation was intended to have an impact before elections held in Kosovo.
The prosecutor said the Special Prosecution Office, KIA and Kosovo Police continue to cooperate on investigations into suspected espionage and foreign intelligence recruitment, which authorities consider a significant national-security concern.
