Kosovo: Information on the scandals involving the government intelligence agency and its Director Burim Smakaj [Bashkim Smakaj] (2014-May 2015)

1. Overview

According to a report produced by the Kosovar Center for Security Studies (KCSS), a non-profit NGO that conducts research on the security sector and specializes in "democratic oversight of security institutions" (KCSS n.d.), the Kosovo Intelligence Agency (KIA) [or AKI] is responsible for providing security screening, and issuing security clearances, for "all public institutions of the Republic of Kosovo and its contractors" (2 Mar. 2015, 5). According to a 2014 article in Koha Ditore, which Factiva describes as a "Kosovo Albanian privately-owned newspaper," the KIA's function is to "identify, collect, and analyse information - but not to carry out police operations and arrest people" (Koha Ditore 17 Oct. 2014). The same source reports that the law governing the KIA indicates that the agency is to "operate throughout the territory of Kosovo," but that KIA activities outside the country are "proscribed" (ibid.).

Law No. 03/L-063 on the Kosovo Intelligence Agency states that "the Kosovo Intelligence Agency shall be established to collect, analyze and disseminate this intelligence in a vigorous and responsible manner" (Kosovo 2008). The same source also states the following:

1.4 The KIA shall have a mandate to operate throughout the territory of Kosovo.

1.5 Any use of covert techniques in Kosovo without a specific authorization by law are prohibited.

...

3.1 The KIA shall have no executive functions. Accordingly, the KIA shall not have:

the right to use direct or indirect force;

any power of arrest;

be able to initiate criminal proceedings; and

power to compel persons or companies to cooperate with their activities, though persons or companies may cooperate with the KIA on a voluntary basis (ibid.)

2. Scandals Involving the Kosovo Intelligence Agency

Information on scandals involving the Kosovo Intelligence Agency (KIA) and its director Bashkim Samakaj was scarce among the resources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

Sources state that the KIA has been involved in multiple "scandals" (Xinhua News 17 Jan. 2015; KCSS 2 Mar. 2015; Balkan Insight 29 Apr. 2014).

In April 2014, a member of the KIA, Isuf Lumi, was arrested (ibid.; Kosova Press 24 Apr. 2014). According to Balkan Insight, a news site produced by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) that specializes in the Western Balkan region (Balkan Insight n.d.), the arrest of Lumi was "on suspicion of falsifying his high school diploma and issuing documents with false content" (ibid. 29 Apr. 2014).

In August 2014, Koha Ditore reported that a KIA agent who had been sent to Syria as a "spy" to investigate Albanian jihadist groups had been discovered and killed in Syria (Koha Ditore 20 Aug. 2014). Citing anonymous sources, including some within the KIA, it was alleged that "the Agency did not take good care of him and he was left without the necessary instructions" (ibid.). The same source further stated that the head of the KIA, Bashkim Smakaj, had not reported the incident to the [legislative] Assembly's KIA oversight committee and whenever he was questioned by the committee on "the Kosovar's involvement in the terrorist organizations ... [he] usually told them 'I have the people there and the situation is under control'" (ibid.). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

In an October 2014 article by Koha Ditore on the publicized involvement of the KIA in returning the 8 year-old son of a Kosovar Albanian woman back to her after he was taken to Syria by his father without her consent, the Director of the KCSS stated that "'[t]here is a discrepancy between an AKI [KIA] statement denying involvement in the war zones in Syria - namely, when it denied that one of its associates had been killed there - and the operation that was revealed by the president'" (ibid. 17 Oct. 2014). The Director was further quoted as saying that, in terms of the legality of the operation,

[i]f a need arises to save the life of the people, as in the case with this Kosovar child, then an operation as part of the intelligence activities could be justified, but without any media pomposity. But, if the operation was authorized by the president, it involves a conflict with the law on the AKI [KIA]. (ibid.)

According to Xinhua News Agency, the KIA member who was killed in Syria was there "to bring back to Kosovo a six-year-old son of a Kosovo member of ISIS" (17 Jan. 2015). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

In January 2015, Koha Ditore reported that the KIA led an "intelligence and arrest operation" concerning a Serbian citizen who had transported explosives in his car to Pristina, and that only Bashkim Smakaj and two former officials of the Kosovo Police had knowledge of the operation (Koha Ditore 7 Jan. 2015). The same source further reported that the KIA was not cooperating with the Kosovo Special Prosecutor's Office [PSRK] on the case although, "the KIA is obliged by the law to offer information to the Prosecutor's Office in every case that threatens the security of the Republic of Kosovo" (ibid.). Further and corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

According to sources, the head of the KIA, Bashkim Smakaj, resigned in January 2015 (RTK 16 Jan. 2015; Xinhua News Agency 17 Jan. 2015). Xinhua News Agency states that, according to media reports, Smakaj "was responsible for breaching the rules of employment, abusing ... tenders, avoiding reporting to parliamentary bodies of the Kosovo Assembly, and involvement in kidnapping attempts" (ibid.).

In March 2015, RTK, Kosovo's public service TV and radio broadcaster (RTK n.d.), reported that Peja University had issued 503 "false diplomas" to people who had not registered or attended the university, including to KIA officials (RTK 4 Mar. 2015). Further and corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Balkan Insight. 29 April 2014. "Kosovo Intelligence Agency Needs Reform, MPs Say." [Accessed 22 May 2015]

_____. N.d. "Balkan Insight." [Accessed 28 May 2015]

Koha Ditore. 7 January 2015. Vehbi Kajtazi. "No Proof Serbian Citizen Held in Kosovo Was Planning Terrorist Attack - Daily." (Factiva)

_____. 17 October 2014. Vehbi Kajtazi. "Kosovo Sources Fault State for Disclosing Operation to Save Child in Syria." (Factiva).

_____. 20 August 2014. Vehbi Kajtazi. "Kosovo Intelligence Agent Said Killed in Syria in Beginning of 2014." (Factiva)

Kosova Press. 24 April 2014. "Senior AKI Official, Isuf Lumi Has Been Arrested." [Accessed 28 May 2015]

Kosovar Center for Security Studies (KCSS). 2 March 2015. A Short Policies Document: Security Vetting. [Accessed 27 May 2015]

_____. N.d. "About Us." [Accessed 28 May 2015]

Kosovo. 2008. Law No. 03/L-063 On the Kosovo Intelligence Agency. [Accessed 28 May 2015]

RTK. 4 March 2015. "503 False Diplomas Allegedly Issued by Peja University." [Accessed 27 May 2015]

_____. 16 January 2015. "KIA Director Resigns." [Accessed 28 May 2015]

_____. N.d. "Public Broadcaster." [Accessed 28 May 2015]

Xinhua News Agency. 17 January 2015. "Head of Kosovo Intelligence Agency Resigns." [Accessed 21 May 2015]

Additional Sources Consulted

Internet sites, including: B92; British Broadcasting Corporation; ecoi.net; The Guardian; Independent Balkan News Agency; Institute for War and Peace Reporting; International Crisis Group; IRIN News; Janes Intelligence Review; Kosova Express; Kosovo- Anti-Corruption Agency, Assembly, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Office of the Auditor General; The New York Times; Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty; Transparency International; The Washington Post; United Nations - Refworld; United States - Department of State.