PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE OF BiH: Meeting of the Task Force for Combating Terrorism Held

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - A meeting of the Task Force for Combating Terrorism and Preventing the Danger of Terrorism was held today at the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, chaired by Chief Prosecutor Gordana Tadić.

The meeting was attended by chief prosecutors from the entity level, Minister of Security of BiH Selmo Cikotić, and directors and senior officials of police and security institutions and agencies, from the level of Bosnia and Herzegovina, both entities and Brčko District of BiH, as well as other institutions involved in the work of the Task Force.

Chief Prosecutor Tadić informed the participants that the Prosecutor's Office of BiH has, in a short period of only a few months after extradition to BiH at the end of last year, filed indictments against seven individuals charged with terrorist offenses and participation in foreign battlefields, of which two accused, immediately after the indictment, pleaded guilty by agreement and received final verdicts.

There were no delays in processing these cases during the Covid 19 pandemic, and activities related to filing indictments, extending custody, and other activities in these cases were regularly carried out.

 

So far, indictments have been filed against 32 individuals for criminal offenses related to participation in foreign battlefields, of which indictments against 10 individuals were filed last year and this year. Currently, 5 cases are in the trial phase.

 

It is important to emphasize that in terrorism cases related to participation in foreign battlefields in Syria, there have been no acquittals, and so far, final prison sentences totaling approximately 60 years have been imposed. For all indictments for criminal offenses related to terrorism, prison sentences totaling approximately 160 years have been imposed.

 

Prosecutors from the Department for Terrorism of the Prosecutor's Office of BiH actively participate in international operations and have good cooperation with partner countries in combating the danger of terrorism, which represents a global threat.

 

Also, the Prosecutor's Office, together with partner institutions and agencies, is working on several investigations related to terrorist offenses, including investigations related to criminal offenses associated with the smuggling of illegal migrants, which requires special attention from the competent institutions.

 

At the meeting of the Task Force, representatives of police and security institutions and agencies presented the work and activities of the institutions they come from, and discussed the direction of action in combating terrorism and the danger of terrorism in the coming period.

 

It was concluded at the meeting that good cooperation and exchange of information between institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as at the international level, must continue to be developed in the future, at the operational level, in order to prevent and timely thwart the danger of terrorism, as well as to strengthen the work of each institution within its jurisdiction, in order to collect evidence and prosecute these criminal offenses.