FINAL DECISION IN TUTMIĆ CASE - CONTINUED SANCTIONING OF DEPARTURES TO FOREIGN BATTLEFIELDS

With the final judgment sentencing Mehmed TUTMIĆ to four years in prison for being a member of an organized terrorist group and participating in foreign battlefields of Syria and Iraq, the number of BiH citizens convicted for departures to foreign battlefields and joining the structures of the so-called ‘ISIS’ has reached a total of 23. There were no acquittals.

The Prosecutor’s Office of BiH is satisfied with the final and confirmed conviction of the accused Mehmed TUTMIĆ who was sentenced to four years in prison for crimes related to terrorism and terrorist activities.

With this judgment a total of 23 persons were convicted in the past three years for the criminal offenses in connection with departures to foreign battlefields of Syria and Iraq and joining the structures of the so-called ‘ISIS’. None of the accused, against whom the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH issued an indictment, was acquitted, thus indicating a thorough and professional performance of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH and partner agencies.

This information is also significant from the aspect of prevention, because it indicates that people who decide to commit the aforementioned crimes will be detected and prosecuted, as well as that the police, security and judicial institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina have the capacity to counter terrorism.

Final convictions totaling to 50 years of imprisonment were rendered for departures to foreign battlefields and related crimes.

Considering the number of cases, the judiciary of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the most efficient in the region when it comes to detection and prosecution of criminal offenses that are related to terrorism and is an important partner in the context of the global fight against terrorism and terrorism related activities.