Sarajlić: BiH part of global anti-terror network, Turkey should extradite arrested student

BiH, (Patria) - Delegate in the House of Peoples of the FBiH Parliament Ismet Sarajlić requested that this house send an appeal to the relevant BiH institutions to maximally engage in the case of young man Selmir Mašetović, arrested in Turkey, respecting the presumption of innocence.

Mašetović was arrested on May 22 in Turkey, after Turkish authorities accused him of being a member of FETO, which President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his AK party consider a terrorist organization. The student, originally from BiH, is in his final year of psychology in the Turkish city of Uşak.

Parents were able to contact him only about ten days after his arrest, while BiH authorities reacted quite slowly.

Delegate Ismet Sarajlić told the Patria agency that Bosnia and Herzegovina must adopt a system for protecting its citizens, it must take care of them even if they are guilty, in order to avoid unpleasant situations like this latest one.

He reminded that the US, or some other developed countries, would fight for the protection of their citizens regardless of what offenses are attributed to them in other countries.

“I have a feeling that we do not have an established system and record of our people who are imprisoned abroad,” says Sarajlić, adding that in the case of young Mašetović, it is a particularly sensitive matter, as he is accused of terrorism.

Under a similar indictment, another BiH student was arrested two years ago, while the media have obtained information that there have been other arrests of BiH citizens in the meantime.

“Ultimately, even if what is said about Mašetović is true, Bosnia and Herzegovina is part of the global anti-terror network. Turkey could have extradited him to BiH and let local judicial institutions try him. After all, BiH and Turkey are friendly countries,” says Sarajlić, believing that neither BiH nor Turkey are acting correctly in the case of young Mašetović.

In Gradačac, Mašetović's hometown, friends and fellow citizens organized protests in support of his family and him.