Bosnian Prosecution Requests Custody for Syria Suspect

Armen Dzelko with lawyer. Photo: BIRN BiH

The request comes after the appeals chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina annulled a previous decision terminating the custody measure and referred the issue back for a new ruling.

Prosecutor Cazim Hasanspahic said that after the decision to terminate the custody remand, the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted a decision to lift the coronavirus-related measures, so the general circumstances for the termination of the custody measures no longer existed.

When presiding judge Branko Peric asked whether there were indications of a real danger of flight, prosecutor Hasanspahic said that an arrest warrant for Dzelko had existed for a long time and that and he was unavailable to the prosecuting authorities for a long time.

“With regards to the period when Dzelko was in custody and under prohibitive measures, we cannot speak about specific circumstances for his flight,” Hasanspahic said.

He added that Dzelko had persistently fought for so-called Islamic State and was one of the few fighters who stayed with the militant movement until he was taken prisoner.

Defense lawyer Senad Dupovac said that his client had been at liberty for 21 days and he could not have left the country in that period even if he had wanted to.

“My client’s passport and personal ID card had been seized. A new ID card with a note saying he is banned from leaving the country was issued,” Dupovac said.

He added that Dzelko spent one year in a prison in Syria and saw no reason to go back there again “knowing he barely made it to Bosnia and Herzegovina”.

Dupovac said that Dzelko worked as an interpreter at a detention facility in Orasje, helping prison officials. He also said his health condition was such that staying in custody would do him harm.

“I propose that my client’s movement be restricted to the village of Vrancici and that police officers visit him twice a week, but I would not propose house arrest,” Dupovac said, adding that Dzelko should help his parents work in the fields.

Dupovac also said that Dzelko had not been taken prisoner, but he surrendered voluntarily, which could be proved by TV footage.

The defendant said he agreed with everything his lawyer said, adding that he would abide by the measures ordered by the court.

Dzelko, alias Abdullah and Ike, is accused of going from Bosnia and Herzegovina to Syria in 2013 and joining Islamic State.

He is charged with having participated in terrorist activities including armed operations, attacks on the local population, killings and hostage-taking.

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

His trial before the Bosnian state court began on May 4.