The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina sentenced Vildan Ključo to three years in prison for going to the Syrian battlefield, where he was from 2012 to 2023.
Ključo was found guilty of illegally forming and joining foreign paramilitary or parapolice formations.
The Chairman of the Judicial Council, Izo Tankić, said that the Council assessed that the prescribed minimum sentence would achieve its purpose, and that it did not find particularly mitigating circumstances to impose a sentence below the prescribed minimum.
According to the first-instance verdict, Ključo traveled to Turkey on February 28, 2012, from where he transferred to Syria and joined a unit that became part of the so-called Syrian Liberation Army with the aim of violent regime change in that country.
Judge Tankić recalled the testimony of witnesses who spoke about the defendant’s stay and activities in Syria, reports Birn.
“They joined that unit, borrowed weapons and went on guard,” said Tankić, adding that some witnesses spoke of their decision to return to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that Ključo told them that he did not intend to return.
The judge stated that the Council established that Ključo was in Syria even after 2014, when joining foreign formations became a criminal offense.
The accused was remanded in custody, where he has been since returning to Bosnia and Herzegovina on October 15, 2023.
Ključo did not attend the sentencing.
The Prosecutor’s Office previously stated that he is one of the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the longest stay on a foreign battlefield.
An appeal is allowed against the pronounced verdict, Srna writes.
