BOSNIA: TRAFFICKER GETS EIGHT YEARS

UNCLAS SARAJEVO 001024 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR D (SMITH),P (BAME),EUR (DICARLO),EUR/SCE (ENGLISH, FOOKS, MITCHELL, SAINZ),G/TIP FOR DONNELLY, NSC FOR BRAUN, OSD FOR FLORY, USNIC FOR WEBER AND GREGORIAN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KCRM KWMN PHUM SOCI BK SUBJECT: BOSNIA: TRAFFICKER GETS EIGHT YEARS REF: SARAJEVO 477 ¶1. On April 25, the Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) State Court handed down the second-longest sentence in the history of Bosnia's anti-trafficking statute, which allows for a maximum sentence of ten years. Mostar trafficker Nermin Cupina was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment. The judge also ordered the seizure of Cupina's apartment and payment of compensation to his victims (a total value of $62,500). Cupina and his two co-defendants were tried separately; Igor Salcin pled guilty and was sentenced to five and a half years in February 2006, and Predrag Leventic was acquitted. This verdict represents a major victory for the State Prosecutor's office, and is a welcome sign that Bosnian courts are increasingly willing to impose substantial financial and criminal penalties in trafficking cases. ¶2. The details of defendant Nermin Cupina's trafficking operation, in which four underage girls were forced into prostitution, captivated the city of Mostar throughout the trial. Victims testified that Cupina and his associates videotaped them having sex with clients, then threatened to send the videos to their families if they did not cooperate. Two of the girls were from BiH, and two were from Serbia-Montenegro. Cupina and his associates used threats and violence to force the girls to comply, and also provided them with illegal drugs. Judge Salem Miso, who chaired the three-judge panel that decided the case, praised the victims for their courage in testifying, noting that the victims' testimony was critical in making the case against Cupina. Judge Miso also advised the victims to file a civil suit against Cupina and his co-defendants. Since Cupina was previously sentenced to four years' imprisonment for car theft and racketering in an unrelated case, he will serve a combined sentence of eleven years and six months. KAIDANOW