Verdict in Syria Terrorism Trial Set for January 28

Senad Kasupović.  Photo: Court of BiH

Prosecutor Cazim Hasanspahic said in his closing statement that the only decision the court could make was to find defendant Kasupovic guilty.

“Since the beginning of the trial, 12 witnesses and four experts have been examined and material evidence introduced which fully proves the facts in the indictment,” Hasanspahic said.

Kasupovic is accused of terrorism for joining the so-called Islamic State. The indictment alleges that Kasupovic travelled from Bosnia to Turkey on July 12, 2013 and illegally crossed the Syrian border with the intention of fighting for Islamic State, which was declared a terrorist organisation by the United Nations on May 30, 2013.

Prosecutor Hasanspahic cited testimony by expert witness Vlado Azinovic, who said that so-called Islamic State was considered the most savage group in modern history.

“The crimes, the genocide against the Yazidis, slaughtering people and throwing them from buildings and beheading them, was filmed for the propaganda purposes of that state,” Azinovic wrote in his findings, which the prosecutor cited, adding that Islamic State now inspires and incites attacks by its followers throughout the world.

The prosecutor said that protected witness S-3 said in his testimony that he had met Kasupovic, who was using the name of Muatesim, with convicted terrorist Ibro Cufurovic, adding the S-3 said he used to see Kasupovic on guard duty in combat gear and later in a camouflage uniform.

“In Manbij he [S-3] met Kasupovic from Velika Kladusa. He told him his name was Muatesim Senad Kasupovic,” the prosecutor said, paraphrasing the protected witness’ testimony, adding that the witness knew the defendant was a member of the Bejt Komandos unit, which was commanded by a man called Bajro Ikanovic.

Cufurovic was sentenced in a second-instance verdict in May 2020 to four years in prison for going to Syria to fight.

The prosecutor pointed out that protected witness S-3 said defendant Kasupovic had been wounded several times.

“As the witness said, he saw him wearing an external fixator on his left leg several times. He said he also saw him in camouflage uniform carrying an automatic rifle,” the prosecutor said.

He added that the witness’s testimony was confirmed by the statements given by female returnees from Syria, which were read in court. The court has ruled that the identity of these witnesses cannot be disclosed.

One of the witnesses said she saw Kasupovic multiple times, and that he had been wounded, while another witness said the defendant was injured by a mine and then surrendered to “the Kurdish army”.

The prosecutor also said that minutes taken by the State Investigation and Protection Agency, dated May 29, 2019, confirmed that videos, which had been examined by experts, included a person identified as Kasupovic.

“There is no dilemma that the defendant’s identity has been confirmed beyond reasonable doubt,” prosecutor Hasanspahic said, adding that all the pieces of evidence formed a whole that constituted a sufficient basis to determine beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant fought for Islamic State.

The prosecutor rejected the defence claim that Kasupovic only went to Syria to get married and live under Islamic law. He also argued that “[Kasupovic’s] attempt to discredit [protected] witness [codenamed] S-3 by saying he did not know him well enough was nothing but that, an attempt”.

Presenting the defence’s closing statement, Kasupovic’s lawyer Husein Music reflected on the prosecution’s closing statement, arguing that the prosecutor believed protected witness S-3 unquestioningly.

“In his testimony, the witness [S-3] said he was neither a friend nor an enemy to my client,” the defence lawyer said, adding that it was not true that the witness saw the defendant doing sentry duty.

Reflecting on the statements made by the female returnees from Syria, Music said that none of them had spent time with Kasupovic because the women were with their children.

“One of the witnesses said that the defendant stepped on a mine although it was not known to her whether he was militarily active,” Music said, adding that the defendant was incapable of military service.

He also said that the evidence presented did not form a coherent whole, but that it was “loose and unreliable”.

“I think that, by going to Syria because of the wife he chose, the defendant did not commit an unlawful act. He went there. Had they not deported him, he would have stayed there for the rest of his life,” Music said.

He argued that Kasupovic should be acquitted of the charges due to a lack of evidence.

Defendant Kasupovic also said he wanted an acquittal.

“I am not a terrorist. I am a Bosnian citizen,” Kasupovic said, adding that he went to Syria because he wanted to have a wife and children.

The verdict will be handed down on January 28.