A Pristina court on Friday jailed eight Kosovars for having planned a terrorist attack on the Israeli football team when they were playing in Elbasan, Albania.
The Pristina Basic Court has jailed eight Kosovo citizens who were found guilty of planning to carry out attacks in Albania against the Israeli national football team; four imams were acquitted in a separate court case on terrorism.
The court sentenced the nine defendants to a total of 35.5 years and fined them more than 5,000 euros for planning terrorist attacks on the Israeli football team in November 2016, during their visiting match in the central Albanian town of Elbasan in November 2016.
Visar Ibishi was jailed for 10 years and fined 1,800 euros, Lulzim Gashi for six years, Leutrim Vojvoda and Flamur Gashi for five years, Leutrim Musliu for three and six months; Burim Istrefi for three years and Kenan Plakaj and Arton Ahmeti for 18 months.
The ninth and last defendant, Besart Peci, was only fined – 2,500 euros.
Two of the nine defendants were accused of planning attacks in Kosovo as well.
Kosovo Police arrested 19 people – 18 Kosovo Albanians and one citizen of Macedonia – suspected of planning terrorist attacks in Kosovo and in Albania, against the Israeli footballers recently playing in Elbasan in November 2016.
“These persons were planning terrorist acts in the Republic of Kosovo and against the Israeli football team and their fans who participated in the Albania-Israel match,” police said in a statement.
Police working in cooperation with the Kosovo Intelligence Agency, AKI, and the Kosovo Special Prosecution, as well as authorities in Macedonia and Albania, prevented the attacks, the police said.
During the arrests, substantial amounts of explosives, including 281 grams of TATP, 2.5 kg of other explosive substance, as well as personal weapons and radio-communication devices, were found.
Those arrested had been reportedly divided into several groups, and were being coordinated by two Kosovo operatives for Islamic State, ISIA, Lavdim Muhaxheri and Ridvan Haqifi, the police said.
Muhaxheri and Haqifi were senior members of ISIS in charge of Kosovo and Albanian fighters.
Both have issued threatening videos about Kosovo and Albania because both governments are part of the international coalition against ISIS. Muhaxheri was reported dead last year, however.
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