One person, suspected of having committed crimes related to terrorism, was arrested on Saturday, November 18 at the airport in Sarajevo.
The State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) announced that he is suspected of the crimes of "Organizing a terrorist group", "Illegal formation and joining of foreign paramilitary or parapolice organizations" in connection with the crime of "Terrorism".
"These activities were carried out in cooperation with the Intelligence and Security Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina," SIPA announced, but did not provide detailed information about the suspect.
The Federal Police Administration confirmed for Radio Free Europe that it is Adnan Ćatić Ada who went to Syria in 2013. He is suspected of having joined the so-called Islamic states.
After the territorial fall of ISIL, he moved from Syria to Turkey, from where he came to Sarajevo by plane. After the interrogation at the premises of SIPA, Ćatić will be handed over to the BiH Prosecutor's Office.
A total of "between 250 and 300" citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina left for Syria from 2012 to 2016, when the last departure was recorded, according to official government data.
In official information at the end of 2022, the authorities stated that they "consider" that 62 adults and 22 minors have returned to Bosnia and Herzegovina so far.
Another 173 people could return to Bosnia and Herzegovina, among them 42 adult men and 30 women, and 91 minors.
Adult men, who have so far returned or been deported, were arrested and 28 of them were convicted of some of the crimes related to terrorism. Most were convicted "for joining foreign paramilitary and parapolice groups", such as the so-called The Islamic State or Al-Nusra, which the United Nations considers a terrorist organization.
They served an average of two years in prison and today they are all free, except for two who were sentenced to four and six years in prison in 2021. Women and children were returned to their families in 18 cities across Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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