The Basic Court in Prishtina found Hysri Selimi guilty of espionage on Monday. He had pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Prosecutors said Selimi worked with the BIA from November 2009 until his arrest in May 2025, providing intelligence on ethnic Albanians who joined the militant group Islamic State (IS) in Syria, including details on their numbers, organisation and areas of operation.

The indictment said that after returning from Syria and serving a prison sentence in Kosovo for participation in terrorist organisations, Selimi continued meeting BIA officials in Serbia and passing on sensitive information. He was allegedly paid up to 700 euros per month.

Prosecutors argued that his actions endangered Kosovo’s constitutional order and security while aiding efforts to undermine the country’s statehood.

Kosovo authorities have stepped up espionage-related prosecutions in recent months. In April, a court in Prishtina sentenced Jellena Gjukanovic, an employee of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), to six years in prison for passing information to the BIA.

Under Kosovo law, espionage carries a minimum sentence of five years in prison upon conviction.

/REL/u.sh/