Appeal rejects defence complaints, two spying suspects remain in custody

Against the Foundation's decision, defender of the accused Shaban, lawyer Besnik Berisha had filed a complaint with the Court of Appeals, claiming that the act of court in the first instance is arbitrary and illegal, reports the “Justice Vought”.

While the defender of the defendant Qerimi, lawyer Ridvan Cajtazi, in complaint, had claimed that the Foundation's decision to appoint the detention is based solely on assumptions rather than concrete facts and specific evidence incriminating his defending directly for the criminal act that is placed on him.

However, the Court of Appeals has found that complaints are groundless and that the court's decision in the first instance is just and legally based.

The appeal has correctly assessed the first court's decision in a conform article 184, paragraph 1, subparagraph 1.2, score 1.2.1 of the Penal Procedure Code, as the risk of escape is potential to these defendants in view of the weight of criminal acts.

“... that if protected in freedom, they can flee the criminal responsibility they face, having faced serious criminal acts involving the security of the state”, is said to be further in the Appeal decision.

According to Appeal, the most reliable fact about the escape of these defendants also makes the fact that the same have often travelled to Serbia, Sarajevo, Macedonia, or even other countries where one of them has family members, which poses the potential risk of fleeing criminal responsibility.

Therefore, the detention assignment is necessary and reasonable at this stage of criminal procedure in terms of preventing escape”, the decision says.

Also, Apel has assessed Article 184's decision by Article 184 correctly, paragraph 1, subparagraph 1.2, c. 1.3.2 of the KPP, as the investigation into this criminal case is in its initial phase, and with the release of freedom, the risk of the defendants destroying, hiding, changing or counterfeiting criminal evidence, or obstructing the normal course of investigation.

The separate “can influence each other because their actions are indirectly interconnected by having contact with the BIA official as well as can affect witnesses of this criminal case and that the police are working on identifying some of them, and some of them have only identified”, said to influence Apel's decision.

This court has also deemed the court's first - degree decision on the detention assignment fair, given the weight of criminal acts, ways and circumstances in which criminal acts have been committed.

There is a risk of repeating criminal acts, since BIA's liaison person has been unable to arrest, or other persons with whom the defendants have had contact, where with their permission there is real danger that the same person will continue contact with these” people, the decision states.

According to the PSRK, the two defendants allegedly committed criminal work “Spy” from Article 124, par. 3 of the Penal Code, meanwhile, the defendant Qerim allegedly committed the other criminal work “retaining ownership, control or unauthorized possession of weapons” from Article 366, par.1 of the Criminal Code, and there is doubt that the defendants had to commit the criminal acts they suspect.

Otherwise, the Kosovo Special Prosecutor of the Republic of Kosovo (PSRK) had announced that following the development of several months of investigation, in co-operation with the Kosovo Police and the Kosovo Intelligence Agency (AKI), it has conducted raids in two Kosovo locations and arrested Bedri Shaban and Muharrem Qrim, suspected of carrying out criminal work “Spy”.

Kosovo police (PK) through a 24-hour report had indicated that in the homes of two suspects who were arrested for spying, various documents, computers, phones were found and seized, USB, DVR, tapes, weapons, ammunition, masks, military gasmasks and a lot of other evidence.

According to police, the arrest of the suspects came after in co-operation with the Kosovo Agency for Intelligence and Special Prosecutors, investigative action has been taken over spying allegations.