Special Prosecutor Bekim Kodraliu said during his opening statement that the evidence presented during the trial would prove that defendants Bedri Shabani and Muharrem Qerimi assisted and served Serbia’s Security Intelligence Agency (BIA), allegedly threatening Kosovo’s constitutional order and the lives of its citizens.
“The Special Prosecution has filed an indictment against Bedri Shabani and Muharrem Qerimi, who are each charged with espionage, while defendant Muharrem Qerimi is also charged with unauthorised weapons possession, an offence to which he pleaded guilty during the initial hearing,” Kodraliu said.
The prosecutor further alleged that the BIA conducts espionage activities in Kosovo, claiming that concrete evidence supports this assertion. He also accused Shabani of attempting to link the KLA hospital in Mollopolc to the so-called “Yellow House” in Albania.
Kodraliu said the prosecution would present more than 30 police reports, findings from the Kosovo Forensic Agency, official confirmations from the Kosovo Intelligence Agency (AKI), border-crossing records showing trips to Serbia and returns to Kosovo on the same day, as well as documents, photographs and other material allegedly found in Shabani’s possession.
According to the prosecutor, the evidence will demonstrate that Shabani allegedly transmitted information, documents and books concerning events related to the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) to BIA official Sërgjan Rosić through telephone communications and in-person meetings, from an unspecified date until his arrest on June 5, 2024.
The prosecution also presented new evidence concerning Shabani. His defence lawyer, Besnik Berisha, described the evidence as “ridiculous.”
The allegations are part of an ongoing criminal trial. Shabani and Qerimi have pleaded not guilty to the espionage charges, and the prosecution must prove its case in court.
