Appeals court upholds corruption indictment against Deputy Prime Minister Fikrim Damka

The Prishtina Court of Appeals has upheld the corruption indictment filed against Deputy Prime Minister Fikrim Damka, seven months after the Basic Court had rejected it.

Damka is currently the third deputy prime minister in the “Kurti 4” government, responsible for minority affairs and cooperation.

According to the Special Prosecution, Damka as Minister of Regional Development and Besim Kamberaj as acting secretary of this ministry unlawfully enabled Swiss Caritas and the organization “Germin” to benefit from one million euros during the period 2021-2022.

The announcement says the Appeals Court confirmed the indictment for the criminal offense “abuse of official position” against Damka and Kamberaj, despite the Basic Court having dismissed the proceedings on the grounds that the conditions for continuation had not been met due to lack of evidence.

The Appeals Court’s trial panel assessed that the first-instance decision was issued contrary to the rules of criminal procedure, finding essential violations under Article 384 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

The Appeals Court also found that the evidence in the case at this stage of proceedings creates a well-founded suspicion that the defendants committed the criminal offense they are charged with and that the evidence was obtained and collected in accordance with the law.

For this reason, according to the announcement, the Court of Appeals has decided that criminal proceedings against them will continue to the judicial review stage.