The Basic Prosecution Office in Prizren has requested pretrial detention for Fadil Selimi, Beqir Selimi and Arsim Dogani, who are suspected of committing three criminal offenses: “Usury,” “Assault on an official” and “Endangering public traffic.”

The news was confirmed to the media by the Basic Court of Prizren through its spokesperson, Marcel Lekaj.

Lekaj said that the request had been received and registered around midnight.

The court hearing against the three suspects began at 10:00, while the relevant measure is expected to be imposed by the judge within the legal deadline.

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The Supreme Court has granted the appeals filed by the defense lawyers of Afrim Derjani, Mirlind Bislimi, Sahit Shabani and Mufail Shabani, who are suspected of “Participation in or organization of an organized criminal group,” “Unauthorized purchase, distribution and sale of narcotics, psychotropic substances and analogues,” and “Money laundering.” As a result, their detention has been terminated and all four will remain free while defending themselves against the charges, after the Prosecution failed to comply with the statutory deadline for requesting an extension of the measure.

“By granting the appeals filed by the defense lawyers of Afrim Derjani, Mirilind Bislimi, Sahit Shabani and Mufail Shabani, the ruling of the Kosovo Court of Appeals – Special Department, dated July 21, 2026, is amended so that the defendants’ detention is terminated today, August 6, 2026, and they are released to defend themselves while at liberty,” states the Supreme Court’s decision of August 6, 2026, “Betimi për Drejtësi” reports.

The case began following a decision by the Basic Court in Pristina, which found that the Special Prosecution’s request, dated July 8, 2026 and received by the court on July 13, 2026, had been filed late. The Basic Court found that the request to extend the detention had been submitted on the day the measure was due to expire.

However, on July 21, 2026, the Court of Appeals granted the Special Prosecution’s appeal and overturned the Basic Court’s decision. On that occasion, the detention of the four defendants was extended by another two months each.

Lawyers Abit Asllani, Fitim Shabani, Avni Ibrahimi and Admir Salihu, acting on behalf of Afrim Derjani, Mirlind Bislimi, Sahit Shabani and Mufail Shabani, challenged the Court of Appeals’ decision before the Supreme Court. They alleged substantial violations of the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code and requested that the ruling be annulled, the detention terminated, and their clients immediately released to defend themselves while at liberty.

Meanwhile, in its written submissions, the State Prosecutor requested that the defense appeals be rejected as unfounded.

The Supreme Court panel, chaired by Burim Ademi and comprising members Agim Maliqi and Mejreme Memaj, found that the Court of Appeals’ decision had been issued in violation of the criminal procedure provisions set out in Article 384, paragraph 2, subparagraphs 2.1 and 2.2 of the Criminal Procedure Code, in conjunction with Article 188, paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Code.

According to the Supreme Court’s reasoning, the request to extend the detention was submitted to the court on July 13, 2026, the very day the measure imposed under the most recent ruling was due to expire. This means that the Prosecution submitted its request only a few hours before the detention ended.

The Supreme Court recalled that the law stipulates that “the State Prosecutor shall submit the request for an extension of detention to the court no later than five (5) days before the expiration of the detention ordered under the most recent ruling.” For this reason, it found that the Basic Court had acted correctly when it dismissed the request as out of time.

The Supreme Court rejected the Court of Appeals’ position that failure to comply with the five-day deadline carries no consequences and does not render the request inadmissible, on the grounds that the deadline is not preclusive. According to the Supreme Court, it must be assessed whether the prosecutor’s failure to comply with this deadline undermines the procedural safeguards provided to defendants under the Criminal Procedure Code.

The court placed particular emphasis on paragraph 2 of Article 188, which stipulates that the request must be sent to defense counsel and the defendant no later than three days before the detention expires. In this case, the defendants had been denied the opportunity to learn the Prosecution’s reasons for seeking an extension of their detention and, consequently, had not had an opportunity to challenge them.

In conclusion, relying on the reasoning set out in this decision and on the case law of the ECtHR concerning the state’s obligations to ensure equality of arms and the adversarial principle when ordering or extending detention, the Supreme Court found that any extension of the measure without notifying the defendant and defense counsel of the request, in accordance with Article 188, paragraph 2, would constitute a procedural violation and a further infringement of the defendant’s rights.

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Two individuals have been handcuffed by the Kosovo Special Prosecution and placed under a 48-hour detention order, suspected of committing war crimes against civilians.

According to the official announcement, suspects M.J. and M.B. are accused of perpetrating violence against the civilian population in the Mitrovica region during the 1999 conflict.

The prosecution stressed that investigations are ongoing and, for the sake of protecting the criminal proceedings, no further details will be released at this stage.

On the other hand, the Serbian List – the main political formation of Serbs in Kosovo, which enjoys Belgrade’s support – described the war crime charges as an instrument of pressure against their community rather than a genuine pursuit of justice.

The party considered the arrests as part of a continuous campaign of intimidation by Kosovo authorities, directed by acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti.

The Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia also reacted sharply, labeling the detention carried out in Zubin Potok as an act of terrorism, revenge, and threats against Serbs.

During the 1998-1999 war in Kosovo, more than 13,000 civilians lost their lives and thousands more went missing.

The search is still ongoing for around 1,600 people who have not been found, the vast majority of whom are Albanians.

Kosovo’s institutions have recently intensified arrests and the filing of indictments for war crimes.

Investigations into these crimes were initially conducted by the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) during the 2000-2008 period, later transferring to EULEX, the European Union’s rule-of-law mission.

In 2018, EULEX handed over the war crimes case files to Kosovo’s local judicial system.

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