The Special Prosecution Office of Kosovo has said that it has sent an official request to the Croatian authorities to provide evidence regarding the arrest of a Serbian citizen of the Republic of Kosovo, against whom and her partner, the District Prosecution Office in Split has opened an investigation for espionage.
The Prosecutor’s Office announces that it is in constant contact with the relevant authorities and will take all necessary legal action in accordance with international legal cooperation agreements.
“Regarding the arrest of a citizen of the Republic of Kosovo in Croatia, we inform you that the Special Prosecution is in contact with the relevant authorities. The Prosecution has already sent an official request for the provision of evidence to the Croatian authorities, in accordance with agreements on international legal cooperation. The Special Prosecution will take all necessary legal actions regarding this matter,” the Special Prosecution said exclusively to RTK.
Following the arrest of Ana Murganić, from North Mitrovica, and her boyfriend, a pilot in the Croatian Army and a member of KFOR in Kosovo, the Croatian justice authorities have ordered 30 days of detention. They were arrested on suspicion of passing information to the Serbian List about developments in northern Kosovo.
However, according to Croatian media, the scandal is even bigger. In addition to the leaked messages with confidential data about KFOR, other secret information was also included. The newspaper Večernji list reported that Murganić had been part of EULEX and UNMIK, and was allegedly infiltrated by Serbian secret services to influence the trials against former KLA leaders.
Initially, the Croatian prosecution stated that it requested pre-trial detention for the Croatian citizen due to the risk of influencing witnesses and repeating the criminal offense, while for the Serbian citizen due to the risk of escape, influencing and possible repetition of the offense.
The Split District Court has not provided further details other than that the investigation is secret.
“According to the law and the very nature of the proceedings, the investigation is secret, but as for the level of secrecy, I honestly don’t know. The sentence for espionage, specifically for the one the Croatian citizen is accused of, is between one and ten years in prison, while for the other charges it is from six months to five years,” said Neven Cambj, spokesman for the Split District Court.
The defense attorney for the espionage suspect, Doris Koshta, has stated that the defendants have pleaded not guilty and have already filed an appeal.
“They actively defended themselves. Each defendant denies committing the crime. I have already appealed,” said Doris Koshta, defense attorney for the espionage suspect.
Meanwhile, the Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia issued a statement on Thursday noting that President Zoran Milanović had been informed of the events as they unfolded and had strongly supported the work of the institutions that uncovered the possible crimes.
“The President of the Republic was informed in due time about the activities of the competent institutions undertaken in this case and expects an efficient investigation that will determine all the relevant facts. Every member of the Armed Forces must perform his military duty honestly and legally, and if any violation of the law and the sworn oath is discovered, it must be punished appropriately.”
According to the Croatian newspaper Večernji list, the pair had been arrested earlier but released; now they have been arrested again after new compromising messages emerged. Murganić was passing on the information to leaders of the Serbian List, a party with close ties to the Serbian government.
An investigation of the mobile phone showed that some of this data had also been sent to a journalist from an international news agency. Through WhatsApp, they exchanged confidential data on KFOR’s movements and plans in northern Kosovo, information in which the Serbian authorities were particularly interested, the media report. According to the newspaper, the Croatian pilot had also informed his girlfriend about developments regarding the case of Dejan Pantic, who had been arrested earlier by Kosovo institutions.
EULEX said in a written response that the EULEX Mission is currently not in a position to comment on the case. The Kosovo Prosecution Office has not responded during the day whether it will cooperate with Croatian authorities or pursue any investigation leads in Kosovo.