Indictment against Fatmir Sheholli: Suspected of cooperating with BIA official to interfere in elections

The Special Prosecution Office of the Republic of Kosovo (SPRK) filed an indictment on August 25, 2026, against Fatmir Sheholli, who is accused of the criminal offenses of “Espionage” and “Blackmail.”

According to the indictment, Sheholli acted on the basis of an operational plan drawn up by an official of Serbia’s Security Intelligence Agency, BIA, to whom he allegedly passed information and documents concerning political developments, the security situation and the functioning of institutions in Kosovo.

The prosecution claims that the purpose of these actions was to harm the interests of the Republic of Kosovo and directly interfere in the electoral process held on October 12, 2025. In addition, Sheholli is accused of blackmailing the injured party, A.J., even while in pretrial detention, causing him financial damage of more than 13,000 euros and threatening to publish in the media videos and information that, it is alleged, would harm his reputation and authority.

The indictment, obtained by Betimi për Drejtësi, states that from an unspecified date until October 9, 2025, in the territory of Kosovo, Sheholli acted continuously and with direct intent as a person recruited by the BIA.

The document states that he carried out the orders and assignments of Bojan Dimić, a senior BIA official. According to the indictment, Dimić holds the position of director of the Directorate for Counterterrorism and International Organized Crime.

The prosecution claims that Sheholli collected and obtained data, which he then sent to the Serbian official through telephone communications and messages. The information and documents concerned the political activities, security situation and functioning of the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo.

According to the indictment, the operational plan prepared by the BIA official was implemented by Sheholli with the aim of harming Kosovo’s state interests and influencing the October 12, 2025 elections.

One of the episodes described in the indictment took place on September 29, 2025, at around 2:00 p.m. Sheholli, accompanied by a family member, allegedly traveled in an “AUDI” vehicle toward North Mitrovica.

There, in the parking lot of the Technical School, near a café, he allegedly received audio materials and transcripts of conversations from an unidentified person.

According to the prosecution, the materials contained recordings and transcripts of conversations involving several senior officials of the Ministry for Communities and Return in the Republic of Kosovo. They had allegedly been prepared with the aim of compromising these officials. Sheholli is said to have received 5,000 euros for this service.

In line with the plan set by the BIA official, Sheholli handed the materials to journalist Milaim Zeka. Along with them, he allegedly gave Zeka 1,000 euros and instructed him on how and when to publish them on the journalist’s program, several days before the vote in the local elections.

The prosecution assesses that these actions seriously harmed the state’s interests, discredited institutions and their officials, deepened social divisions and created the possibility for a foreign intelligence service to directly interfere in an electoral process in Kosovo.

For this part of the charges, Fatmir Sheholli is accused of the criminal offense of “Espionage,” under Article 124, paragraph 3, in conjunction with Article 77 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kosovo (CCRK).

The second count of the indictment concerns allegations of blackmail. According to the prosecution, from 2022 until December 2025, including the period when he was in pretrial detention, Sheholli sought to unlawfully obtain property by blackmailing A.J., the owner of a business in the Republic of Kosovo.

The indictment states that the defendant forced the injured party to act to the detriment of his property, in an amount exceeding 13,000 euros. The money was allegedly requested as a loan, while A.J. was threatened that, if he did not provide the amount, video recordings and information that would seriously damage his honor, reputation and authority would be published in the media.

According to the indictment, covert investigative measures documented that, even during Sheholli’s pretrial detention, the threatening messages were relayed through one of his family members. The messages demanded a monthly payment of 700 euros, warning that otherwise the video recordings would be published.

The injured party, the indictment states, handed 500 euros to Sheholli’s family member through one of his employees, after acting under the influence of fear.

For these actions, Sheholli is also accused of the criminal offense of “Blackmail,” defined in Article 329, paragraph 2, in conjunction with Article 77 of the CCRK.

Regarding his mention in the indictment, Betimi për Drejtësi contacted journalist Milaim Zeka. Zeka said that he was hearing about these allegations for the first time.

“Fatmir gave the materials to other journalists as well. The 1,000 euros were given for translating the materials, and he told us that they belonged to German Gizzi,” Zeka declared.

Following the submission of the indictment to the Basic Court in Pristina, the scheduling of the initial hearing is expected.

The prosecution has requested that Sheholli’s pretrial detention be extended until the conclusion of the trial. It has also proposed that the seized items and property, including 3,185 euros, be confiscated after the conclusion of the trial, in accordance with the court’s final restraining order.

Nenad Rašić has been proposed to be summoned as the injured party and a witness, while Milaim Zeka has been proposed as a witness.

Regarding the evidence related to the espionage charge, the prosecution has also included information about Sheholli’s past in the indictment. It states that during the conflict in Kosovo, as well as before it, he was part of the then Yugoslav security structures.

The indictment also mentions his media activities at Pristina Radio Television, which was administered by the violent Serbian regime, and later at “AS TV.” According to the prosecution, at these media outlets he produced materials and interviews that aligned with the official narrative of the Serbian authorities and harmed the interests of Kosovo’s Albanian population.

The document also cites an interview Sheholli gave in 1999 to the international newspaper Los Angeles Times, in which he stated that “Serbian forces were not committing genocide in Kosovo, but only individual crimes.”

The prosecution also says that interviews and public appearances by him from Belgrade exist in which he criticized the KLA, NATO and the policy of the United States of America in Kosovo. In these appearances, according to the indictment, Sheholli claimed that the KLA had been created and supported by U.S. intelligence services.

Another group of pieces of evidence attached to the indictment concerns Sheholli’s public appearances in local and regional media after the end of the war. The prosecution claims that on a considerable number of occasions he supported positions in favor of the “Serb List” and its political figures, while attacking the party’s political opponents, accusing them of acting against the interests of Serbs in Kosovo.