IN BiH, UNLIKE OTHER COUNTRIES, ISLAMISTS CAN BUY THEIR WAY OUT OF PRISON

BANJA LUKA, OCTOBER 8 /SRNA/ – In BiH, unlike in other countries, mild sentences are handed down to those who publicly incite and recruit for terrorist activities, while returnees from the Syrian battlefield, where they fought for Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, receive sentences as low as 12 months, which they can pay to avoid serving, Predrag Ćeranić, Dean of the Faculty of Security Sciences at the University of Banja Luka, told SRNA.

Ćeranić warned that the Wahhabi infrastructure poses a high level of social danger throughout BiH and pointed to the alarming degree of youth indoctrination with Wahhabism. He recalled that a 14-year-old in Bosanska Krupa stabbed and killed one police officer and seriously wounded another, and referred to Jasmin Merdan's book "Wahhabism/Salafism," in which it is written that "Not every Wahhabi is a terrorist, but every terrorist is a Wahhabi." "This has been confirmed by a series of terrorist attacks in BiH, some of which resulted in final court verdicts," Ćeranić added. He emphasized that former para-jamaats have taken on a new form, now operating as NGOs that are involved in humanitarian work but also continue to spread their mission. "The real social problem is the militant character of the Wahhabi movement. It's not about their interpretation of Islam, but their intolerance toward others, which is destructive for BiH," Ćeranić said. He stressed that incidents of harassment and calls to action by Islamists deserve not only public condemnation but also a proper treatment, i.e. appropriate criminal policy. Ćeranić also pointed out that volunteers who went to fight in Syria for infamous terrorist organisations like Al-Qaeda and ISIS have received very lenient sentences upon returning to BiH, especially when compared to countries like Austria. "In BiH, Bilal Bosnić was sentenced to seven years in prison /for publicly inciting and recruiting for terrorist activities/, while Ebu Tejma received 20 years in Austria for the same crime. Here, returnees from the battlefield were being handed down with 12-month sentences which they were able to buy out," he reminded. Ćeranić concluded that this lenient penal policy is especially troubling given the extent of youth indoctrination with ideologies that do not belong to this region or to the society. The three individuals arrested in the Bihać area on suspicion of inciting national and religious hatred were released after questioning, as the Una-Sana Canton Prosecutor's Office concluded that "there is no reason to request detention". Media outlets reported that among those arrested was Adil Ćenanović, an Islamist who, at the end of September, harassed a Serb family in Bihać for playing the song "Veseli se srpski rode/Rejoice, Serbian People," shouting "Takbir – Allahu Akbar" outside their home.