The Court of Appeals of Kosovo has overturned a decision by the Basic Court in Pristina that had dismissed the indictment against former Minister of Regional Development Fikrim Damka and former acting secretary of the ministry, Besim Kamberaj. The case concerns the financing of the organizations “Germin” and “Swiss Caritas,” while the Special Prosecution claims that the damage to the state budget amounts to 1.04 million euros.
In its decision dated October 21, 2026, the Appeals Court amended the first-instance ruling and confirmed that the indictment against Damka and Kamberaj meets the conditions to be examined at trial.
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According to the Appeals Court panel, the evidence collected by the Special Prosecution creates a well-grounded suspicion that the defendants may have committed the criminal offenses of which they are accused. Consequently, the criminal proceedings will continue to the trial stage.
Fikrim Damka, who served as the third deputy prime minister for minority affairs and economic cooperation, is accused together with Besim Kamberaj, the former acting secretary of the Ministry of Regional Development.
The Basic Court in Pristina had previously granted the defense’s requests to challenge the evidence and dismiss the indictment. It reasoned that the materials presented were insufficient to support the suspicion that the defendants had committed the criminal offense with which they were charged.
The Special Prosecution challenged this decision through an appeal, requesting that the criminal proceedings continue. The defense attorneys for Damka and Kamberaj also responded during the appeals proceedings.
Appeals Court: Basic Court made a final assessment of the evidence
In its reasoning, the Appeals Court found that the Basic Court had exceeded the limits of the assessment permitted at this stage of the proceedings. According to the second-instance court, when challenges to the evidence and a request to dismiss the indictment are being considered, the only issue that should be assessed is whether a well-grounded suspicion exists.
According to the Appeals Court, the final determination of the value of the evidence and the defendants’ criminal liability must be made during the trial.
At this stage, an indictment may be dismissed only when the evidence clearly shows that there is no well-grounded suspicion that a criminal offense was committed. In the case of Damka and Kamberaj, the Appeals Court assessed that the case file contains materials requiring more in-depth analysis during the judicial proceedings.
The Court of Appeals also identified ambiguities in the reasoning of the Basic Court’s ruling. According to the Appeals Court, it was not clear whether the indictment had been dismissed due to a lack of evidence, because the defendants’ actions did not constitute a criminal offense, or because the elements of the offense were absent.
The Appeals Court pointed out that different findings had been used in various parts of the first-instance decision. One section stated that there was no well-grounded suspicion that the defendants had committed the criminal offenses, while another stated that their actions could not be classified as criminal.
For this reason, according to the Appeals Court, it was unclear what specific grounds the Basic Court had relied on in dismissing the indictment.
Suspicions of exceeding powers and financing organizations
The Appeals Court found that some of the evidence contained in the case file had been misinterpreted by the Basic Court.
One of the issues examined was the first-instance court’s assessment that the memorandums of cooperation had not created immediate financial obligations for Kosovo’s budget, as they had been considered cooperation instruments rather than financial contracts.
According to the Appeals Court, the case file contains two memorandums accompanied by annexes setting out the costs of the projects to be financed.
The court assessed that the evidence creates a suspicion that Damka, in his capacity as minister of Regional Development, and Kamberaj, as acting secretary-general of the ministry, may have exceeded their official powers and authorizations.
Under this suspicion, the actions may have been undertaken with the aim of enabling the organizations “Germin” and “Swiss Caritas” to obtain financial benefits, as well as causing damage or infringing the rights and interests of other persons.
According to the Appeals Court’s decision, the financing of the two organizations was carried out by the Ministry of Regional Development through direct negotiation of the content and drafts of the memorandums of cooperation. According to the court, this was done without the relevant public call procedures and without the necessary level of transparency.
The Appeals Court also took into account the opinion of the Legal Department of the Ministry of Finance, which had warned the Ministry of Regional Development that it could not assume financial obligations beyond the funds allocated and appropriated.
The fact that “Swiss Caritas” had covered 60 percent of the cost of one project, according to the court, did not exempt the ministry from its obligation to apply the rules and procedures governing the financing of projects with public funds.
In conclusion, the Appeals Court ruled that the indictment filed by the Special Prosecution may proceed to trial.
Indictment filed on July 4, 2025
The Special Prosecution of the Republic of Kosovo filed an indictment on July 4, 2025, against Fikrim Damka and Besim Kamberaj for the criminal offense of “Abuse of official position or authority.”
According to the indictment, the actions for which they are accused took place during 2021–2022. During that period, Damka was minister of Regional Development, while Kamberaj was serving as the ministry’s secretary.
The Prosecution claims that the defendants, in violation of legislation and rules governing the public financing of nongovernmental organizations, took steps to conclude agreements with “Swiss Caritas” and to include the organization “Germin” in the relevant projects.
The projects mentioned in the indictment are “Youth Environmental Impact – YENI” and “Municipal Action for Reintegration and Diaspora – MARDI.”
According to the Prosecution, on May 5, 2022, Damka decided to allocate 147,000 euros for the co-financing of the YENI project and 200,000 euros for the MARDI project. The total amount allocated was 347,000 euros.
The indictment claims that, through agreements and obligations assumed to finance the projects during 2022, 2023 and 2024, the defendants exceeded the permitted limits for the public financing of NGOs.
The Prosecution calculated the total amount of these obligations at 1.04 million euros and claims that the actions caused damage to Kosovo’s budget.
For this reason, the Prosecution requested that Damka and Kamberaj be ordered to compensate the claimed amount. It also requested an additional penalty that would entail a ban on holding positions in the public administration or public service.
At the initial hearing held on September 23, 2025, both defendants pleaded not guilty.
The decision of the Court of Appeals was issued by a panel chaired by Judge Avni Mehmeti, with Judges Albina Shabani-Rama and Ferit Osmani as members.
Meanwhile, on March 23, 2025, the Basic Prosecution in Prizren filed another indictment against Damka and another person for the criminal offenses of “Assault” and “Threat.”
