A hearing was held in front of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the possible detention, on the proposal of the BiH Prosecutor’s Office, of the recently arrested Adnan Ćatić, a returnee from Syria.
Prosecutor Dubravko Čampara, explaining the request for custody, said that Ćatić arrived on a commercial flight from Istanbul on Friday around 8 pm. He had with him a travel document that was issued to him there by Bosnia and Herzegovina. DKP, as well as an expired passport. The prosecutor of Čampara claims that they have enough evidence that Adnan Ćatić was part of an organized criminal group, and they charge him with the crime of terrorism.
They state that Ćatić left Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2013 in order to join terrorist organizations (according to the decision of the UN Security Council), ISIL and Al Nusra. He stayed there until 2021.
“He went through the military and participated in battles, for which we have a large amount of evidence,” Campara told judge Tatjana Kosović.
According to the prosecutor, there are witness statements, who returned from the Syrian battlefield, where they describe Ćatić’s role in that unit, what he did, what kind of training he underwent. There is a large number of statements, claims Campara.
The Prosecutor’s Office has been conducting an investigation since Friday, with witness hearings to follow. They say that Ćatić stayed in Gornja Maoča before going to Syria. They wonder where exactly he was in Turkey, and will request a financial investigation from SIPA about how he stayed there, who financed him, and with his family.
“He was wounded, and we are most interested in the degree of radicalization, i.e. de-radicalization, what we can expect from him, whether he is a danger to citizens,” asked the prosecutor.
They remain with the request for detention because they believe that Ćatić gained numerous contacts during his stay in Syria, even though those military, terrorist formations failed, their members are still found all over the world.
“As he left once, he can leave again”, believes Čamapra.
The Prosecution believes that in the 10 years that Ćatić has been outside of Bosnia and Herzegovina, he spent at least seven in Syria, he is capable, they say, of handling various types of weapons, “we don’t know what his intentions are and until we check everything, we can’t leave anything to chance.” “, concludes the prosecutor.
Senad Dupovac is Adnan Ćatić’s defense attorney, ex officio, he says he chose him from a list of lawyers.
He immediately called the Court for the presumption of innocence, he says that the prosecutor uttered “difficult words” that do not stand and are deafening.
“We had many such cases that were in custody, so the Court later released them,” Dupovac says.
The very method of arrival contradicts the prosecutor’s claims. He came alone (he was not handed over in handcuffs like many before him, from prison and on special flights), he bought a ticket, had a travel document, he came from Turkey without any problems, he passed all the controls, according to the defense.
“Turkey is a member of NATO, they have intelligence data, if he had a fraction of what the prosecutor said, Turkey would not have let him board a civilian flight with 180 passengers of Turkish Airlines,” Dupovac said.
It is a voluntary return, says the defense, while the Prosecution believes that this is not the case, he certainly could no longer stay in Turkey.
Lawyer Dupovac claims that Ćatić was not a soldier, but that he worked in an elementary school, which was also founded by the British, and that he worked in a library and photocopier.
“Doctors, journalists, researchers went there, why is everyone who goes to Syria a terrorist,” asked the lawyer.
He believes that there is no reasonable suspicion for detention, he proposes measures to prohibit him from leaving his place of residence without the prior approval of the Court, as well as that police officers randomly check him twice a day.
Ćatić asked the Court for an opportunity to “correct the mistake”
Adnan Ćatić normally lives in Bosavaca, he says in his parents’ house. The son is an only child. His wife and two minor daughters live there. When asked if he was married, he answered “only according to Sharia”. He is unemployed and says he is a hairdresser by profession. When Judge Kosović asked what he was doing in Turkey, he said nothing special, privately. He also said that he would have come to Bosnia and Herzegovina earlier, because his family arrived in 2021, but he had private problems, he did not present the details before the Court. He has not been convicted before, claims that no other proceedings are being conducted against him.
When Judge Kosović asked if he wanted to add anything before the end of the hearing, Ćatić replied:
“I would be grateful for the opportunity to correct what I have done wrong”.
The judge continued “Are you aware of the mistake?”, and Ćatić answered “Yes”.
Dupovac also claims that his client was not a member of any formation, and blames domestic perception.
“Anyone who returns from Syria is considered to be a participant in some kind of formations. However, its first effect, even when it appears, does not work at all like those with long beards, short pants…”, stated Dupovac.
He added that he would get data from the school where Ćatić worked.
“The prosecutor’s office says that it has been conducting the investigation for three days, and it remains to be seen how many clues they will be able to find. The position of the Prosecutor’s Office is more difficult than that of the defense in this case,” he said.
When asked by the media about the school where Ćatić worked, Dupovac further explains that it was founded by Pakistanis with British citizenship, and that it is “just like any other elementary school”.
“He worked between the library and the photocopier, he prepared and photocopied materials in the office,” he said.
He claims that his client was not injured.
On the other hand, his client admitted in front of the judge that he is aware that he committed a mistake, and Dupovac justifies it by the period of adolescence.
“When he left, he was not yet formed as a personality. Going to Syria is certainly a mistake, and he knows it,” explained Dupovac, as reported by N1.