INDICTMENT FILED AGAINST FOREIGN CITIZENS CHARGED WITH INTERNATIONAL SMUGGLING OF MIGRANTS

Two individuals, citizens of Iran and Afghanistan, are charged with smuggling a group of illegal migrants of Afro-Asian origin across the river border on the Drina River.

A prosecutor of the Special Department for Organised Crime, Economic Crime and Corruption of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH filed an indictment against:

-       Warris Zigid, born in 2002 in Tehran, Iran, citizen of Iran, who is remanded in custody, and

-       Kamal Ulldin Arab, born in 2002 in Nangahar, Afghanistan, citizen of Afghanistan, who is remanded in custody.

The charges against the aforementioned defendants are that in Meterize, Zvornik municipality, in the night hours of August 22, 2023, they together and in concert with persons known to them from the territory of the Republic of Serbia, took part in the smuggling of eight illegal migrants, citizens of Afghanistan, for the purpose of acquiring unlawful property gain, which is contrary to Article 6 of the Protocol against Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air supplementing the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime, as well as the provisions of the Law on Border Control.

The smuggling, during which the life and safety of migrants were put at risk, was carried out in a rubber boat across the Drina River from the direction of the Republic of Serbia towards the territory of BiH. The smuggling was discovered and prevented by members of the Border Police of BiH at the Public Crossing Point Zvornik and the State Investigation and Protection Agency - SIPA, by means of specialist equipment.

After they were discovered, the defendants tried to escape by jumping from the boat in which they were transporting the migrants, but were prevented in this by the intervention of the police officers.

The charges against the defendants are that with the aim of acquiring unlawful property gain they, together with persons known to them illegally transported several migrants across the state border, thereby committing the criminal offence of Smuggling of persons in violation of Article 189 (1) of the Criminal Code of BiH, in conjunction with Article 29 of the same Code.

The indictment was forwarded to the Court of BiH for confirmation.