Seven Kosovars have been indicted on terrorism charges for planning to take up arms with the Islamic State or for recruiting fighters in Kosovo, the first such indictment to be raised in the country since more than 50 people were arrested last year.
The indictment, which names the seven defendants, says they “agreed to go to war in Syria and join a group of Albanians fighting for the terrorist organization ISIL,” the Kosovo prosecutor’s office said.
The seven are named as Zeqirja Qazimi, Ilir Berisha, Sadat Topojani, Burim Ballazhi, Jetmir Kyqyku, Liridon Kabashi and Ilir Krraba.
The most severe charges are against five of the defendants, for “inciting others to commit or participate in terrorist activities, and for securing funds and other material resources”.
According to the indictment, since the start of the conflict in Syria, Qazimi “held lectures at the ‘Islamic Youth’ NGO in Kacanik about the importance of Jihad” and as an imam in the “El-Kuddus” Mosque in Gjilan.
He allegedly held similar lectures in Vitia, Kacanik and Hani i Elezit, where he preached that the “war of the Jihad in Syria was a holy war” and stressed the importance of joining “ISIS and Jabat Al-Nusra”.
Qazimi also allegedly secured financial means and instructions for a group of Kosovar Albanians “who are currently in Syria or were previously thought to be there,” all of whom are named in the indictment.
Qazimi is also accused of spreading religious intolerance. In a video he posted in 2013 on YouTube of an Islamic lecture, he says: “The blood of the Kaffir [nonbelievers] is our sweetest drink.”
Ilir Berisha was in direct contact with the previous head of the Albanian group in Syria, Lavdrim Muhaxheri – it is unclear who the current head is.
The indictment specifies that he used to “top up Lavdrim Muhaxheri’s phone, so that he could stay in contact with people traveling to Syria,” and gave Kosovo Albanians directions on how to get from Hatay airport in southeastern Turkey to the Syrian border.
The indictees appear to have communicated mainly via text messages, with instructions being shared between those already in Syria and those planning to go.
The indictment mentions a text message that Muhaxheri sent, which specifies three contact persons who would meet up with the Kosovar Albanians once they arrived in Hatay, and take them to Syria.
Sadat Topojani admits to going to Syria to fight against Bashar Al-Assad’s regime, whereas Burim Ballazhi says he went there only to help protect families that were targeted by the Assad regime. Both were trained in Syria, with Ballazhi receiving intensive 40-day training.
The suspects were arrested separately from June to October 2014. Five defendants, including the imam, have remained in detention since being taken into custody, while one suspect is under house arrest and another is out on bail.
The indictment marks a new stage in the drive by the authorities in Kosovo to prosecute radical Islamists, recruiters or fighters.
The Interior Ministry estimates that around 300 Kosovars have joined the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq. Half of them have been prosecuted so far, according to Interior Minister Skender Hyseni.
