The Court of Appeal has confirmed the decision of the Basic Court in Pristina, which had confirmed the indictment of the Special Prosecution against Bedri Shabani and Muharrem Qerimi for espionage.

"The appeals of the defendants' defense attorneys, Bedri Shabani, attorney Besnik R. Berisha and Muharrem Qerimi, attorney Betim Shala, are REJECTED as unfounded, while the ruling of the Basic Court in Pristina-Special Department,…, dated 20.04.2025, is AFFIRMED," states the Appeals decision, which was secured by "Oath for Justice".

According to the Appeals Court's decision, lawyers Berisha and Shala had filed an appeal against the Foundation's decision, proposing that the Court of Appeals dismiss the charges against the two defendants.

For these appeals, the Appellate Prosecution has proposed that they be rejected, while the Basic Court's decision be upheld.

Findings of the Court of Appeal:

The second instance decision states that there are no convincing arguments and they do not contain any legal basis to dismiss the charges as required by the Criminal Procedure Code.

According to the Appeal, the first instance court correctly decided when it established that there was sufficient evidence admissible in legal-procedural terms to proceed with the trial of Shabani and Qerim.

The appeal emphasized that based on the case files, the essential elements of the criminal offenses for which Shabani and Qerimi are charged now exist and that all evidence was obtained legally.

This Court has clarified that during the judicial review, the evidence obtained will be administered and the lawyers and the accused will be given the opportunity to object to it, presenting their arguments. It states that the court, based on the development of the judicial review, will issue a decision on the merits regarding this case.

Following this decision, it is expected that the Court of Appeal will schedule court hearings against Shabani and Qerimi.

The hearing on March 5, 2025 was adjourned at the request of the accused Shabani for additional time to read and analyze the indictment in order to then plead guilty.

The Special Prosecution Office of the Republic of Kosovo (SPRK) on February 19, 2025 filed an indictment against Bedri Shabani and Muharrem Qerimi, accusing them of having collected and sent information and documents to the Serbian BIA regarding the Kosovo Liberation Army, its superiors and members, the Police, the Kosovo Intelligence Agency and the Kosovo Police Inspectorate, as well as specific events and objects, including a massacre in Recak.

Through these actions, the SPRK says that the aim was to cause a widespread interethnic conflict in the territory of the Republic of Kosovo, to create a false narrative linking the KLA Military Hospital with the so-called "Yellow House" for alleged organ trafficking, and to question the truth of the massacre.

The indictment charges Shaban and Qerim with espionage. Qerim is also accused of possessing weapons without a permit.

According to the indictment provided by the "Oath for Justice", in the first count, Bedri Shabani is accused of having assisted the Intelligence and Security Agency of the Republic of Serbia (known as BIA) from an unspecified date until the moment of his arrest on June 5, 2024, in the form of collecting and sending information, documents and materials related to the Kosovo Liberation Army, including its superiors, as well as specific events and objects such as the KLA Military Hospital in the village of Mollopolc, Shtime, and the Reçak massacre.

The indictment states that Shabani had transmitted the data and information in question to the senior BIA official, Srgjan Rosic, responsible for the Pancevo Region, as well as Colonel Bogoljub Janicevic, former commander of the Serbian Police for the Ferizaj Region, during the war in Kosovo and leader of the police-military operation in the Recak massacre, through telephone communications, e-mail and physical meetings held on the territory of Serbia.

Therefore, it is said that with these actions the accused has seriously endangered and damaged the constitutional legal order and the security of the Republic of Kosovo, while also assisting the BIA in creating a false narrative with the aim of linking the KLA Military Hospital in Mollopolc, Shtime, with the so-called "Yellow House" in Burrel, Albania, allegedly involving organ trafficking, as well as questioning the truth of the Recak massacre, by requesting the BIA official and Bogoljub Janičević to undertake operational actions that would cause a widespread interethnic conflict in the territory of the Republic of Kosovo.

Therefore, for these actions, Bedri Shabani is charged with the criminal offense of "Espionage" under Article 124, paragraph 3 of the Criminal Code.

Meanwhile, in the second count of the indictment, Muharrem Qerimi is accused of having assisted the Intelligence and Security Agency of the Republic of Serbia (known as BIA) from 2012 onwards until his arrest on June 5, 2024, in the form of collecting and sending various information, documents and materials related to the war and members of the KLA, the names and superiors of the Kosovo Police, the KIA, the IPK, then the names of witnesses already known to the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague in relation to criminal offenses of organized crime and corruption, and which information he transmitted to the senior BIA official, Srgjan Rosic, responsible for the Pančevo Region, through telephone communications and physical meetings he held in the territory of the Republic of Serbia.

With these actions, the accused Qerimi is said to have seriously endangered and damaged the constitutional legal order and the security of the Republic of Kosovo and its citizens.

Therefore, for these actions, Qerim is charged with the criminal offense of "Espionage" under Article 124, paragraph 3 of the Criminal Code.

Meanwhile, the third count of the indictment states that on June 5, 2024, during the implementation of the Court's order for a search warrant, the defendant Qerimi was found in unauthorized possession of an "Ekol Tuna" type revolver, a magazine, six cartridges, twenty other cartridges with the inscription 11/53, as well as four other magazines with the crescent sign and a round, which were seized by the Kosovo Police.

With these actions, Qerim is charged with having committed the criminal offense of "Unauthorized ownership, control or possession of weapons" under Article 366, paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code. /Oath for Justice/

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