Indictment for espionage against Croatian pilot and his Serbian partner over information about Kosovo

The Split County Prosecutor’s Office has completed the indictment for espionage against Croatian citizen J.I., a former military pilot in the Croatian Air Force, and his longtime partner, Serbian citizen A.M. from Kosovo. Both were arrested in August last year on suspicion of involvement in espionage activities, Index reported.

According to the indictment, while serving in the Croatian Armed Forces, the pilot repeatedly handed classified information to his partner between February and December 2022. He had obtained the data or had been given access to it in the course of his duties.

The Croatian prosecution alleges that J.I. was aware that A.M. was collecting the information on behalf of a foreign state. The Serbian citizen is then suspected of forwarding the materials she received to several addresses abroad.

Some of the suspicions concern information about the situation in Kosovo. While serving in KFOR, the Croatian pilot is suspected of transmitting information about KFOR troop movements to his partner. According to the allegations, she subsequently handed the information over to the Serb List.

He is also suspected of revealing important information to her concerning the movements of Serbs in northern Kosovo, beginning at the end of 2022. According to the indictment, the information also included KFOR troop movements and general developments in the northern part of Kosovo.

The Split County Prosecutor’s Office has asked the County Court to extend the precautionary measures against the accused woman because of the risk that she could flee.

Meanwhile, the pilot was released from pretrial detention at the end of October last year. Precautionary measures were imposed on him, including a ban on contacting one of the witnesses, while he was dismissed from military service because of the case.

With the filing of the indictment, the investigation is considered complete and the case is moving to a new stage of the criminal proceedings.