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The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina on Thursday found two hard-line Islamists guilty of acquiring guns and explosive devices in preparation for terrorist attacks. It sentenced Maksim Bozic (1990) to four years in jail and Edin Hastor (1972) to two-and-a-half years.
“They were planning and preparing an attack on the State Investigation and Protection Agency, SIPA, building in Eastern Sarajevo and on the Tuzla Cantonal Ministry of Internal Affairs, MUP, building,” the verdict said.
The court determined that, between the middle of June 2017 and April 10, 2018, Bozic planned and prepared the acquisition of the materials for the attack, which had “the aim of intimidating the population and … seriously destabilizing the political and constitutional structure of Bosnia and Herzegovina”.
Explaining the verdict, Judge Andjelko Marijanovic said the State Prosecution had proved all the allegations from the indictment.
In June 2017, the judge said, “Bozic requested protected witness A to film him on a video about his wish to die for Jihad, after he had acquired weapons for the commission of the planned terrorist act, and to publish it in the media after the commission of the act”.
He added: “In March 2018, Hastor, knowing that Bozic was planning to commit a terrorist act consisting of an attack on the SIPA building in Eastern Sarajevo and the Tuzla Cantonal MUP building, provided premises in his own family home for the purpose of the terrorist act, which SIPA prevented.”
The court heard that Witness A confirmed the intention of Bozic and Hastor to commit acts of terrorism, and his testimony corresponded to other witness testimonies.
Under the verdict, Bozic’s custody was extended for nine more months. The custody measure for Hastor was terminated, but he was prohibited from leaving Bosnia. Bozic did not attend the pronouncement of the verdict.
The indictment against Bozic and Hastor was filed in July 2018. The defendants pleaded not guilty a month later. Following a year-long trial, in its closing statement in late June, the Prosecution requested the conviction of the two men while the Defence proposed their acquittal. The parties may appeal the verdict.
