Blerim Canaj, a political analyst and Kosovo’s former ambassador to Austria, confirmed on Tuesday that Fatmir Sheholli, who is suspected of espionage, had sent him a document allegedly drawn up by the Serbian intelligence services. It referred to a plan to recruit Albin Kurti in 2001.
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Canaj’s name appears in the Special Prosecutor’s Office file, according to which Sheholli had forwarded the alleged Serbian RDB document to him and several other people.
Speaking on RTV 21’s Click program, the former diplomatic representative said he had received the material from Sheholli via the social network Facebook.
Canaj said that receiving the document did not constitute any disclosure, since it had arrived in his Facebook inbox. According to his account, after opening and viewing it, he asked Sheholli what it was, and Sheholli replied only: “Look at it.”
He explained that he is a historian by profession and that, during their studies, historians learn to be very cautious when confronted with documents from secret services, particularly when there is no other basis to support them.
According to Canaj, Sheholli’s aim was for the material to be distributed. He assessed that the document had been fabricated by Serbia’s intelligence service, the BIA, for its own purposes.
The former ambassador said that he had met Sheholli through television studios, and he also raised the question of why the document had been sent specifically to him. Canaj said he later understood that the material had also been forwarded to many other people, as Sheholli had tried and hoped that someone would take it, pass it on, and publish it.
However, Canaj stated that he himself had never made the document public. Immediately after receiving it, he sent the material to several friends who worked on security policy.
Speaking about Sheholli and his activities, Canaj said that “everyone” had been aware of them. He added that Sheholli had continued to operate for another four to five years after Albin Kurti came to power.
