Bosnian Investigator Says Syria Defendant ‘Probably’ in Photos

Milarem Berbić. Source: State Court

The defence cross-examined the witness, a State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) investigator involved in counter-terrorism issues about identifying defendant Milarem Berbic, who is on trial for Berbic has been charged with joining foreign paramilitary formations and fighting in Syria for so-called Islamic State.

Defence lawyer Almin Hrustic wanted to know on what basis of what the witness, who began testifying at the last hearing, confirmed that Berbic was the man with a cap, sunglasses and beard shown in one photo.

The investigator, whose name cannot be published due to the nature of his job, said several investigators and agencies had been involved in the identification process, adding that witnesses made positive identifications.

He said that, on the basis of the information that was gathered, he could say with a strong probability that it was Berbic.

The defence also questioned the witness about allegations he made at the last hearing, when he said that Berbic had a rifle on one group photograph. The witness pointed to an object on the photograph, saying it was probably a rifle or two rifles.

When asked by defence lawyer Hrustic about the origin of the video material from which the photo was captured, the witness said the material was downloaded in its original format. He added that not only SIPA, but also its international partners, had obtained it.

He said that the video subtitles contained a translation from Arabic, adding that explanations were provided for some Arabic words on the basis of consultations with people who had been in Syria, but no interpretation was provided for those words.

The witness said SIPA acted on orders from the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but authorised officers did not need to get an order for each activon and online investigations represented a way of gathering data.

The defence lawyer presented the witness with two official notes made by the Border Police of Bosnia and Herzegovina. One of them dated March 2016 alleged that Berbic’s departure from Sarajevo by plane on August 29, 2014 was registered, while the second one made on February 24, 2016 indicated that it was not registered.

The witness said he was not familiar with these notes. Prosecutor Elvira Stanojlovic objected, saying that the second document was not known to her and it was an unstamped copy. Hrustic said that he had received the document from the defendant’s previous defence lawyer.

The defence said it objected to the witness’s testimony in its entirety, because, Hrustic said, it was based on an unlawful piece of evidence, given that the authenticity of the video had not been proven and no identification had been carried out.

Another SIPA investigator testified as a prosecution witness. He said that material broadcast on the ‘Mreza’ (‘Network’) show on Federal TV in Bosnia and Herzegovina had been examined.

He said that, acting on an order from the prosecution, SIPA registered procedures for finding the show on the internet. He explained that a report entitled ‘Forced Upbringing’ focused on Bosnian citizens who took their entire families to Syria. He said that Berbic was mentioned in that show, among others.

When asked by the defence on what basis he was claiming that Berbic was featured in the report, wearing a cap and glasses, the witness said he had been involved in counter-terrorism activities for five years and that information had been exchanged within the agency.

When Hrustic insist on getting an answer to his question, the witness said that in this specific piece of footage, a journalist had identified Berbic.

The trial will continue on September 17.