What is known about the arrest of a Serbian woman for espionage in Kosovo?

Three days after the arrest of a woman with the initials J.GJ. from the Serb community in northern Kosovo for "espionage", there is almost no information on the case. What is known is that J.GJ. is an employee of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) mission in Pristina.

While some Kosovo media outlets are reporting that the suspect is a "spy" for the Serbian Security and Intelligence Agency (BIA), the agency has not responded to Radio Free Europe's questions to confirm or deny these speculations. Radio Free Europe has attempted to obtain more details about the case from the Kosovo Special Prosecution Office, as well as through the arrested woman's lawyer, Predrag Miljkovic, but without success.

Kosovo Police have briefly confirmed that the person suspected of "espionage" was arrested on February 28 at the border crossing in Jarinje, in northern Kosovo, by order of the Special Prosecution, but have not provided any other details.

The Special Prosecution Office also announced on February 28 that a person arrested for espionage could face a minimum sentence of five years in prison, according to the Criminal Code, if it is confirmed that they have engaged in espionage or collected data for a foreign intelligence service or otherwise assisted the work of that service.

So far, the only thing known is that the arrested J.GJ. is a resident of North Mitrovica, who is employed by the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe). The OSCE Mission in Kosovo stated on March 2 that it had taken note of media reports about the detention of “their member” and that they are in contact with her lawyer.

"Although the mission cannot comment on this case due to ongoing investigations, it remains committed to cooperating with the relevant authorities," the OSCE statement said, emphasizing that they are in contact with relevant institutions and the OSCE Secretariat in Vienna to ensure "compliance with the prescribed procedure."

REL has contacted the OSCE Mission in Kosovo asking what position J. Gj. is employed in, how long she has been a member of the mission, and whether the mission conducts security checks on its employees. However, as of the publication of this article, no response has been received.

Court hearing held behind closed doors

The hearing in which the person with the initials J. GJ. was sentenced to one month in pre-trial detention was held on March 2 at the Basic Court in Pristina, but was not open to the public. The court then announced that there was a "grounded suspicion that J.Gj. "in complicity committed the criminal offense of espionage" and that the pre-trial detention was ordered due to the risk that he could influence evidence and witnesses, and that he could repeat the same criminal offense or commit other criminal offenses under the same or more serious circumstances.

"The court considers that the gravity of the criminal offense is of a serious nature, therefore the imposition of a pre-trial detention measure is a necessary measure in this criminal case and that any other measure would be insufficient for the successful implementation of the criminal procedure, hindering the normal course of this criminal procedure, and preventing the repetition of criminal offenses," the announcement states.

No reaction to the arrest

Serbian institutions have not reacted to the arrest of the woman with the initials J.GJ., although until now it has been the practice that after every arrest of Serbs in Kosovo, including those for "terrorism" or "endangering the constitutional order", the Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia reacts.

Also, the Serbian List, the largest Serb party in Kosovo, which enjoys the support of official Belgrade, has not commented. The arrest of the suspect J.GJ. occurred on the same day that the Minister of Internal Affairs of Kosovo, Xhelal Sveçla, announced that the police, after receiving information from the field, had launched an operation in the territory of the municipality of Leposavic, during which military uniforms, weapons and ammunition were seized and that behind all this are members of the organization "Civil Protection", which "continues to operate in the territory of Kosovo".

Previous allegations of collaboration with the BIA

Also, the Kosovo Special Prosecution Office filed an indictment on February 20 against two individuals with the initials B.SH. and MQ, on suspicion of having committed the criminal offense of espionage. Local media in Kosovo reported that these are Kosovo Albanians linked to Serbian authorities, namely the Serbian Security and Intelligence Agency (BIA).

However, the BIA denied any connection to those arrested in Kosovo, calling this an "attempt to spread fake news" by the authorities in Pristina./REL