Bosnian Court Asked to Retry Convicted Syria Fighter

Convicted Syria fighter Osman Abdulaziz Kekic’s lawyer Senad Dupovac told BIRN that he filed a request on April 8 to the Bosnian state court for a retrial for his client because “the defence has obtained new witnesses”.

Dupovac said that two witnesses from Syria appeared at the trial of Kekic, as well as witnesses from the State Investigation and Protection Agency, SIPA.

“One of them claimed that Abdulaziz Kekic was a member of some armed formation, while the other said he was not. However, Osman Abdulaziz Kekic has now obtained new witnesses, who were in Syria,” he explained.

“During the repeat trial they will confirm that he was not a member of any military or paramilitary formations. The request has been filed in that context. There are some statements certified by a notary public… So, we shall see what happens,” he added.

The third-instance chamber of the State Court sentenced Kekic in March 2018 to three years in prison for going to join a foreign paramilitary formation in Syria.

He was found guilty of having travelled to Turkey on March 20, 2015 with the intention of joining a foreign paramilitary formation and then, on an undetermined date, travelled onwards to Syria where he joined the Enver Alwaki Unit, part of the so-called Islamic State, and stayed there until October 2 that year.

Under the first-instance verdict, Kekic was acquitted of the charges, but the appeals chamber upheld the prosecution’s appeal and ordered a retrial. After that he was sentenced to two years in prison. The third-instance chamber confirmed the conviction, increasing the sentence to three years.

Dupovac said that Kekic is currently serving his sentence in the Penal and Correctional Facility in Tuzla.