{"id":79874,"date":"2025-07-17T15:13:19","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T13:13:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/?p=79874"},"modified":"2025-07-17T15:13:19","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T13:13:19","slug":"kosovo-authorities-launch-new-operation-against-espionage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/kosovo-authorities-launch-new-operation-against-espionage\/","title":{"rendered":"Kosovo Authorities Launch New Operation Against Espionage"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"text-token-text-primary w-full\" dir=\"auto\" data-testid=\"conversation-turn-10\" data-scroll-anchor=\"true\">\n<div class=\"text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-10 [--thread-content-margin:--spacing(4)] @[37rem]:[--thread-content-margin:--spacing(6)] @[72rem]:[--thread-content-margin:--spacing(16)] px-(--thread-content-margin)\">\n<div class=\"[--thread-content-max-width:32rem] @[34rem]:[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @[64rem]:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto flex max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 text-base gap-4 md:gap-5 lg:gap-6 group\/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden\" tabindex=\"-1\">\n<div class=\"group\/conversation-turn relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn\">\n<div class=\"relative flex-col gap-1 md:gap-3\">\n<div class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col grow\">\n<div class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal [.text-message+&amp;]:mt-5\" dir=\"auto\" data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"dc3813da-6b5b-4f22-b555-cd7cb425040b\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-4o\">\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden first:pt-[3px]\">\n<div class=\"markdown prose dark:prose-invert w-full break-words light\">\n<p data-start=\"63\" data-end=\"258\">In June, a court in Pristina sentenced Aleksandar Vllajiq to five years in prison after he was found guilty of espionage for acting as a member of Serbia\u2019s Intelligence and Security Agency (BIA).<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"260\" data-end=\"396\">Currently, two suspects \u2014 Bedri Shabani and Muharrem Qerimi \u2014 are on trial at the Basic Court in Pristina, accused of spying for Serbia.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"398\" data-end=\"598\">They have pleaded not guilty to the charges, which allege they provided the Serbian BIA with information about Kosovo\u2019s security institutions, the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), and the Re\u00e7ak massacre.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"600\" data-end=\"753\">In Kosovo, espionage is defined as the covert gathering, transmission, or distribution of sensitive information to another state, organization, or group.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"755\" data-end=\"911\">Under Kosovo\u2019s Criminal Code, espionage is considered a serious crime and carries a minimum sentence of five years in prison if the suspect is found guilty.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"913\" data-end=\"1059\">Experts have described espionage as a serious threat to Kosovo\u2019s national security, and say that recent arrests only highlight the ongoing danger.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1061\" data-end=\"1178\">They argue that such activities not only destabilize the country internally but also harm its international standing.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1180\" data-end=\"1496\">Burim Ramadani, former Chief Inspector of the Kosovo Intelligence Agency (KIA), considers espionage one of the main threats to national security in the country. According to him, the recent arrests and other ongoing legal proceedings against suspects show how vulnerable Kosovo is to foreign intelligence activities.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1498\" data-end=\"1632\">\u201cThe intended damage is to discredit Kosovo internationally and to create internal tension,\u201d Ramadani told Radio Free Europe in March.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1634\" data-end=\"1803\">According to former Deputy Interior Minister of Kosovo, Valdet Hoxha, Serbia and Russia are primarily the actors seeking to portray Kosovo as a \u201cfailed Western project.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1805\" data-end=\"1946\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">\u201cIn this context, naturally, they have aimed to infiltrate their people into security mechanisms and other political structures,\u201d Hoxha said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mx-[var(--mini-thread-content-inset)]\">\n<div class=\"flex min-h-[46px] justify-start\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"pointer-events-none h-px w-px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-edge=\"true\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In June, a court in Pristina sentenced Aleksandar Vllajiq to five years in prison after he was found guilty of espionage for acting as a member of Serbia\u2019s Intelligence and Security Agency (BIA). Currently, two suspects \u2014 Bedri Shabani and Muharrem Qerimi \u2014 are on trial at the Basic Court in Pristina, accused of spying [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":79875,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[163,1803],"tags":[243,151],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Kosovo Authorities Launch New Operation Against Espionage - Euronews Albania<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/kosovo-authorities-launch-new-operation-against-espionage\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kosovo Authorities Launch New Operation Against Espionage - Euronews Albania\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In June, a court in Pristina sentenced Aleksandar Vllajiq to five years in prison after he was found guilty of espionage for acting as a member of Serbia\u2019s Intelligence and Security Agency (BIA). 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