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🇷🇸 Serbia /Conflict & Security

Koha: Kosovo spy suspect asked Serbia’s intelligence agency to use beatings to secure votes for Vučić

From N1 Serbia · () Serbian

Translated from Serbian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources In the courts
  • Fehim Sali, the founder of the Moja Gora organization, was arrested at the Merdare crossing on suspicion of spying for Serbia’s BIA, according to Koha and KoSSev.
  • Prosecutors allege he gathered information in Kosovo, identified Kosovo Intelligence Agency officers and proposed people as possible recruitment targets.
  • Koha published an audio recording that it said captured Sali discussing voter registration and efforts to secure support for Aleksandar Vučić and the Serbian Progressive Party, including through pressure and beatings.

Fehim Sali, the founder of the Moja Gora organization, allegedly worked not only as an informant for Serbia’s intelligence agency but also to secure votes in Kosovo for President Aleksandar Vučić and his party, Koha reports.

Sali was arrested on Aug. 13 at the Merdare crossing and placed in detention the following day. Prosecutors say he provided the BIA with information about Kosovo’s political situation, photographed Kosovo Intelligence Agency officials and passed on information about people linked to the Wahhabi movement and others who could potentially be approached or recruited.

The prosecution also alleges that Sali maintained contacts with politically and socially influential people in Serbia and Kosovo, particularly members of non-majority communities. According to the account cited by KoSSev, he gave them instructions and guidance for political activity.

I have handwritten who said ‘NO’, since it is marked that way, but what can we do?

· Fehim SaliAccording to a transcript published by Koha, Sali discussed people who had refused to sign in connection with voter registration.

Koha says Sali admitted before Kosovo judicial authorities that Serbia’s intelligence service had recruited him. The publication also obtained an audio recording that allegedly captures a conversation between Sali and a senior BIA official identified as Ž. M. In the recording, Sali discusses adding members of Kosovo’s Gorani community to the voter register and efforts to have them vote in Serbia’s 2024 elections for Vučić and the Serbian Progressive Party.

A transcript published by Koha quotes Sali as saying he had handwritten a list of people who had refused to sign. He then appears to suggest applying pressure and using beatings, saying he had entered the operation to win for the SNS and Vučić. The report says Sali had been working before his arrest to secure “safe votes” for Serbia’s upcoming parliamentary elections.

If we can, do it, do it, with pressure and beatings, everything, but only for the good.

· Fehim SaliThe quote comes from the audio recording that Koha said captured Sali discussing efforts to secure votes for Vučić and the SNS.
About this summary

Originally published by N1 Serbia in Serbian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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