Former AKI chief even in the retrial sentenced to 4 years and 8 months in prison for the “Gylenists”

In this case, Driton Gashi in the quality of the head of the Kosovo Intelligence Agency (AKI), was charged with having been directly committed to the expulsion of 6 Turkish citizens from Kosovo by violating legal procedures, reports “Justice Trust”.

The indictment was proclaimed Tuesday by the chairman of the court, Violet Namani-Hajra, and members Media Bytyqi and Leon Perlasca.

Judge Naman-Hajra said Gashi is sentenced to 4 years and 8 months in prison, and a supplementary sentence was also pronounced against him -- a four-year ban on the exercise of office in public administration after serving a prison sentence.

In reasoning of the verdict, the judge said that in the retrial most hearings were kept closed due to the sensitivity of the case. The defendant said he has overstepped official competencies.

The accused is obliged to pay the procedure's expenses and the one for the judiciary is worth 1,000 euros and another 100 euros for the Crime Victims Compensation Fund.

The parties damaged for realising the property-law demand are directed in regular legal-civil disputes.

Present at the announcement were prosecutor Habibe Salihu-Statovci and Gashi's defender, lawyer Driton Musliu. Meanwhile, the accused Gashi was missing.

On July 19th 2023, the Foundation had convicted former AKI chief Driton Gashi, condemning him to 4 years and 8 months in prison, until Valon Krasniqi and Bemer Syleman were acquitted.

But in December 2024, the Court of Appeals has turned this case into retrial only as far as the 1st point of device against accused Driton Gashi has proven the release from the prosecution of the other two indictees.

According to the indictment filed by the Special Prosecutor of the Republic of Kosovo on February 24th 2021, Driton Gashi was charged with being a formal person at the time of the criminal work, director general of the Kosovo Intelligence Agency, further AKI, from March 23rd 2018, to March 29, 2018, in Pristina, in order that citizens of the Republic of Turkey, Cihan Ozcan, Yusuf Karabina, Kahraman Demirez, Hasan Hyseen Demir and Mustafa Erden, who had legal permission and work rights in Kosovo and Karako who had made a stand for permits in Kosovo, whose procedures had not ended with decauting forces from Kosovo and Turkish authorities.