Accused of espionage, Jelena Dukanovic did not plead guilty at the initial trial session in the Basic Court in Pristina, as reported by KosovaPress.
Her lawyer, Predrag Miljkovic, requested that the accused be released from pre-trial detention and placed under house arrest instead.
The prosecutor of the case, Bekim Kodraliu, opposed this request, stating that due to the seriousness of the offense and the risk of flight, detention is necessary.
“Do you plead guilty or not guilty? – I do not plead guilty,” said Dukanovic.
When asked by the panel of judges whether she is employed, the defendant, Jelena Dukanovic, said that she is still employed by the OSCE.
“Are you currently working anywhere? – I am still employed at the OSCE… Employed at the OSCE, yes, that’s written down,” said Dukanovic.
During the reading of the indictment, prosecutor Bekim Kodraliu stated that Dukanovic is accused of, from an unspecified date until the moment of her arrest on February 28 of this year, in her capacity as an official of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, knowingly and intentionally carrying out repeated actions that constituted active assistance to the intelligence activities of a foreign service, specifically Serbia’s BIA.
Kodraliu emphasized that according to the indictment, through these deliberate actions the defendant, Jelena Dukanovic, endangered the constitutional order and national security.
“The Special Prosecution of the Republic of Kosovo, based on the legal provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code, has filed an indictment against the defendant Jelena Dukanovic, who has been in detention since 28.02.2025. From an unspecified date and continuously until the moment of her arrest on February 28, 2025, in her capacity as a local official of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, at the regional office in Mitrovica, serving as national program officer at the regional center in Mitrovica, with full knowledge and direct intent she carried out repeated actions that constitute factual assistance to the intelligence activity of a foreign service, specifically the Intelligence and Security Agency of the Republic of Serbia, known as BIA, by providing data, documents, and sensitive information obtained during her official duties within OSCE activities… Through these deliberate actions, the defendant seriously violated the constitutional order and national security and placed at serious risk the lives and personal safety of state officials and citizens of the country,” said Kodraliu.
Lawyer Miljkovic requested that Dukanovic not remain in detention, but instead be placed under bail and house arrest.
“The only risk the prosecution emphasizes, which can be examined, is the risk of flight. Therefore, I propose to the court the imposition of bail and house arrest for Jelena Dukanovic,” said Miljkovic.
This was opposed by prosecutor Kodraliu.
Meanwhile, the presiding judge, Rrahman Beqiri, said that a decision on this request would be made after the conclusion of the session.
“Regarding the indictment proposal and the defense’s proposals now, decisions on all of these will be given in a separate ruling outside the session.”
Dukanovic is suspected of acting in cooperation in committing the criminal offense of “Espionage,” under Article 124, paragraph 3, in relation to Article 31 of the Criminal Code.
About a week ago, the Special Prosecution of Kosovo filed an indictment in the Basic Court in Pristina against the defendant, Jelena Dukanovic, for the criminal offense of “Espionage.”
According to evidence obtained during investigations, the information secured by J.D. was transmitted to senior BIA officials, specifically R.G., the BIA official responsible for the Novi Pazar region in Serbia, and official L.B., with whom the defendant also met on several occasions in Belgrade, Serbia.
