Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07SARAJEVO1405
2007-06-25 08:05:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Sarajevo
Cable title:  

TERRORISM CONVICTIONS UPHELD BUT SENTENCES

Tags:  PTER KJUS PGOV BK 
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P 250805Z JUN 07
FM AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6509
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 0032
RUEHCP/AMEMBASSY COPENHAGEN PRIORITY 0019
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 0077
RUEHSM/AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM PRIORITY 0015
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RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JCS WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUFOAOA/USNIC SARAJEVO PRIORITY
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY IA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SARAJEVO 001405 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DOJ FOR DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL B. SCHWARTZ, DOJ/OPDAT C.
ALEXANDRE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/22/2011
TAGS: PTER KJUS PGOV BK
SUBJECT: TERRORISM CONVICTIONS UPHELD BUT SENTENCES
SUBSTANTIALLY REDUCED

REF: A. SARAJEVO 47

B. 05 SARAJEVO 2892

Classified By: Amb. Douglas L. McElhaney. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SARAJEVO 001405

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DOJ FOR DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL B. SCHWARTZ, DOJ/OPDAT C.
ALEXANDRE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/22/2011
TAGS: PTER KJUS PGOV BK
SUBJECT: TERRORISM CONVICTIONS UPHELD BUT SENTENCES
SUBSTANTIALLY REDUCED

REF: A. SARAJEVO 47

B. 05 SARAJEVO 2892

Classified By: Amb. Douglas L. McElhaney. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (U) On June 15, the State Court appellate panel affirmed
the terrorism convictions of Mirsad Bektasevic and three
others (REF A). While rejecting all of the defense's claims
for acquittal, the court significantly reduced the sentences,
ruling that the original sentences were disproportionate to
the degree of danger posed by the crimes committed and lower
penalties would achieve the purposes of punishment. Lead
defendants Bektasevic and Abdulkadir Cesur's sentences were
reduced from 15 to 8 years and from 13 to 6 years,
respectively, while the sentences of co-defendants Bajro
Ikanovic and Senad Hasanovic were reduced from 8 to 4 years
and 2.5 years to six months. Hasanovic is eligible for
immediate release based on time served. A fifth defendant,
Amir Bajric, is currently serving two years in prison in
accordance with his plea agreement.


2. (C) The men were arrested in October-November 2005 in
Ilidza, a suburb of Sarajevo. Among the items confiscated in
the raid on their safe house were a semi-automatic pistol
with an attached suppresser/silencer, 19 kilos of explosive
material and a crudely fashioned suicide belt. Authorities
also discovered a video depicting masked men supposedly
preparing for an attack against unspecified European targets.
At the time, Bektasevic was 19 years old, Cesur and
Hasanovic were 21, and Ikanovic was 29. USDOJ/OPDAT, Embassy
LEGATT and the FBI assisted Bosnian authorities with
investigating and trying the case. DOJ/OPDAT also reviewed
the appellate claims with the prosecutor and provided
substantial guidance for the prosecutor's response.


3. (U) The three-judge appellate panel, composed of two
Bosnians and one German (lead) judge, affirmed the four
convictions, rejecting claims by the defense that the verdict
could not be based on the testimony of cooperating
co-defendant Bajric, and that key evidence was unlawfully
obtained. However, the panel held that the original
sentences had been set without considering any mitigating
circumstances, such as the defendants' ages and their lack of
prior criminal records. The panel determined that the
revised sentences were more proportionate to the degree of
danger posed by the crimes committed and would achieve the
purposes of punishment.

Comment
--------------


4. (C) The court's decision to significantly reduce the
sentences is unfortunate. It is possible the court was
influenced by the fact that no acts of violence were actually
committed, because the defendants were captured before the
plot was fully developed. The result was likely also partly
a result of differing European versus U.S. approaches to
jurisprudence. Nevertheless, the most important element of
the case, the guilty verdict, was reaffirmed and is now
final. This is no small achievement in a legal climate where
appellate panels are not required to defer to, and do not
hesitate to reverse, the trial courts' findings of facts.
For example, in November 2005, the State War Crimes Chamber
appellate panel partly overturned the Maktouf conviction on
precisely the same grounds that the Bektasevic panel
rejected, namely, an important witness for the prosecution
was an accessory to the crime and therefore his credibility
was questionable (REF. B). The reduced penalties imposed on
Bektasevic and his codefendants should not detract from the
fact that, through the successful prosecution of Bosnia's
first terrorism case, Bosnian police and prosecutors, with
key assistance from U.S. authorities, have improved their
professional competence. However, it is also apparent that

SARAJEVO 00001405 002 OF 002


more needs to be done to discourage the appellate judges from
too-readily second-guessing their lower court colleagues.
MCELHANEY