AFTER SIGNING PLEA AGREEMENTS, PERSONS ACCUSED OF INTERNATIONAL SMUGGLING OF MIGRANTS SENTENCED TO TOTAL OF FOUR YEARS IN PRISON

As part of the case conducted for the criminal offences of human smuggling, the accused Baban Mohammed Kareem, born in 1990 in Iraq, a citizen of Iraq, and Onen Ilhan, also known as "Doctor", born in 1986 in Omerli-rep, a citizen of Turkey, who are currently remanded in custody, signed Plea Agreements admitting their guilt for the commission of the criminal offences charged against them by the indictment of the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina under Article 189 and Article 189a of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, after which they were sentenced by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina to a single sentence of imprisonment for a term of two (2) years each.

The proposed sentence is consistent with the role and responsibility of these accused persons in the commission of the said criminal offences, as well as with the judicial practice and other judgments that have been handed down for the same or similar criminal offences.

The aforementioned accused persons are charged with engaging, jointly and through mutually agreed and connected actions, in an organized illegal transfer - international smuggling of Turkish citizens, including minors, from Bosnia and Herzegovina to Croatia and other EU countries, during 2023, for the purpose of acquiring material gain.

As part of the Plea Agreements, the security measure of forfeiture of items was imposed, in accordance with which EUR 620 and BAM 1,180 were forfeited from the accused Baban Mohammed Kareem, along with some mobile phones with corresponding SIM cards and a laptop, whereas EUR 27,700 was forfeited from the accused Onen Ilhan, along with a mobile phone with a corresponding SIM card.

By signing the Plea Agreements, the accused waived their right to a trial, as well as their right to appeal against the judgment handed down by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the basis of these Plea Agreements.

Having considered the Plea Agreements, the Court accepted them and consequently imposed the aforementioned sentences on these accused persons.