30 October 2013

Today a mixed panel of local and international judges at Basic Court of Prizren found A.B. guilty of Smuggling of Migrants and sentenced him to a term of imprisonment of three years. The defendant was convicted on the basis of a plea agreement.

A.B. was found guilty of smuggling of migrants, mostly of Turkish origin, from Kosovo to Croatia and Slovenia and onwards to their final destination in Italy and other EU countries, including Hungary, Austria, Germany, and other countries in Western Europe.

The case was prosecuted by an international prosecutor from the Kosovo Special Prosecution Office (SPRK).

The defendant was arrested in April 2012 as part of a joint operation between Organised Crime Investigation Unit of EULEX and Kosovo Police Department of Organised Crime.

The Indictment was filed by an international SPRK prosecutor on 16 April 2013. The main trial commenced on 28 October 2013.