Bosnian Court Ends Detention of Syria Terror Suspect

The prosecution will appeal against the decision, BIRN Bosnia and Herzegovina has learned.

The court announced that it had accepted a proposal filed by Dzelko’s defence lawyer to terminate the custody remand, adding that restrictive measures had been imposed instead.

According to the announcement, Dzelko has been banned from leaving his place of residence and travelling, as well having to report to the relevant state body once a month.

Dzelko’s defence lawyer Senad Dupovac told BIRN Bosnia and Herzegovina that “several things count in favour of my client, whose health has deteriorated”.

“Armen Dzelko is a disabled person. He came here as a disabled person without one kidney, without a spleen, with a major injury to his body. When Zujo [Hamza, a court expert] conducted his expert examination, he noticed that and included it in his findings, saying his health has seriously deteriorated,” Dupovac explained.

He said that Dzelko was of great help to staff members at the detention facility in Orasje bcause he speaks Arabic and English, so he could interpret in cases such as the “apprehension of migrants”.

According to Dupovac, the circumstances of Dzelko’s wounding and the fact that he had attempted to return to Bosnia and Herzegovina since 2015 also count in his client’s favour.

“They have evidence in terms that he tried to leave and made several unsuccessful attempts to, so to say, return,” Dupovac said.

The state prosecution told BIRN Bosnia and Herzegovina that it was dissatisfied with the court’s decision and will appeal against it within the legal deadline.

According to the indictment, Dzelko left Bosnia and Herzegovina at the beginning of 2013 he and travelled to Syria, where he joined the so-called Islamic State.

He has also been accused of taking part in terrorist activities, including armed operations, attacks against population, killings, unlawful detentions and hostage-taking.

It is further alleged that he was injured several times. After the defeat and collapse of Islamic State in late 2019, he surrendered to anti-terrorist coalition forces in Baghouz, after which he was deported to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The trial of Dzelko began at the Bosnian state court on May 4.

He was deported together with Milarem Berbic, Muharem Dunjic, Hamza Labidi, Senad Kasupovic, Jasmin Keserovic and Emir Alisic.

All of them except Dunjic, who is still being investigated, have been accused of fighting in Syria. The trials of Keserovic and Kasupovic have also begun.