While all eyes are on BiH citizens going to Syria, volunteers to Ukraine go without problems!

According to the Criminal Code of BiH, going to foreign battlefields is prohibited for all BiH citizens, writes the Patria News Agency.

Amendments to the Criminal Code were adopted last year, and since then, the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) as well as other police agencies have been able to more comprehensively launch operations to apprehend those who propagate or incite people to join paramilitary units around the world.

Two operations codenamed “Damascus” took place in BiH, where people who were recruiting young men and women to go to the Syrian battlefield, where dozens of BiH citizens are already present, were arrested.

The result of this operation was the arrest of Bilal Bosnić, whose trial begins on January 11. However, BiH and its smaller entity, the RS, are facing another problem with the departure of volunteers to the battlefield in Ukraine, where they are fighting on the side of Russian rebels.

And while the names and surnames of individuals going to Syria can be found, it is difficult to obtain information about departures to Ukraine. Thus, it is impossible to get the number of people fighting in Ukraine, and the focus of all media reports is on Syria.

In this regard, we asked SIPA about their findings and how many people have gone to Ukraine. However, the response from this institution is not as specific as in the cases of BiH citizens going to Syria, stating:

- The State Investigation and Protection Agency, within its legally prescribed jurisdiction, undertakes activities regarding all groups or individuals who express extreme views through their actions, endanger the integrity of BiH, or undertake other actions that constitute criminal offenses prescribed by the Criminal Code of BiH – says Kristina Jozić, acting spokesperson for SIPA.

On the other hand, it is almost impossible to obtain data on this from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the RS, just as it has never been fully investigated how many Russian volunteers were engaged in the units of the RS Army, which committed genocide and many war crimes against Bosniaks.

Nevertheless, as Patria learns, dozens of BiH citizens, mostly from the RS, are fighting on the Ukrainian battlefield, and it is high time for police agencies to become more involved in resolving this issue.