Bedri Shabani and Muharrem Qerimi, who are accused of espionage in Kosovo, appeared before the Basic Court in Prishtina on Tuesday as proceedings against them continued, Ekonomia Online reported.
The trial recently restarted after a change in the judicial panel, with both defendants again pleading not guilty to the espionage charges.
At a hearing on October 9, presiding judge Rrahman Beqiri announced that Judge Vesel Ismajli would be replaced by Judge Donika Shala-Abdyli because of Ismajli’s approaching retirement. The change required the trial to begin anew.
Both Shabani and Qerimi had previously pleaded not guilty to espionage at the initial hearing on March 17, 2025. Qerimi, however, pleaded guilty to a separate charge of unlawful possession of a weapon.
Kosovo’s Special Prosecution Office filed an indictment against the two men on February 19, 2025. The indictment was brought by prosecutor Bekim Kodraliu.
Allegations of cooperation with Serbian intelligence
According to the indictment, Shabani and Qerimi are suspected of providing information to Serbia’s Security Intelligence Agency, known as the BIA, concerning the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), massacres committed during the war in Kosovo, the Kosovo Intelligence Agency, the Kosovo Police and the Police Inspectorate of Kosovo.
Prosecutors allege that the defendants held in-person meetings in Serbia with a senior BIA official and a former Serbian police commander who allegedly led a police-military operation connected to one of the massacres committed in Kosovo during the war.
The indictment further alleges that information was transmitted through mobile phones and email.
Both defendants face espionage charges, while Qerimi is additionally charged with unlawful possession of a weapon.
The allegations remain subject to judicial proceedings, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty by a final court judgment.
