SERBIA: TRIAL OF ALLEGED MUSLIM TERRORISTS CONTINUES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BELGRADE 000662

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR INL
DOJ FOR OPDAT, CARL ALEXANDRE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM KIRF PGOV PREL KV SR
SUBJECT: SERBIA: TRIAL OF ALLEGED MUSLIM TERRORISTS CONTINUES

REFS: BELGRADE 167

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Summary
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1. (SBU) Serbia's first domestic terrorism trial, in which the
defendants are accused of planning attacks in Belgrade on sites
including the U.S. Embassy, continues to work its way slowly through
the judicial system. The case crept forward during two recent trial
sessions and is scheduled to resume again in September. DOJ Office
Belgrade continues to monitor the case and to provide assistance to
local authorities. End Summary

Trial of Alleged Terrorists Continues
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2. (U) After beginning the trial in February 2008 against 14 Muslim
Serbian citizens accused of terrorism (reftel),the Belgrade Special
Court continued with the case in April and June 2008 during two
separate trial sessions. The defendants are all members of the
Ahl-i Sunni movement, commonly referred to in the Serbian press as
"Wahhabis." In the April 7-18 trial session the remaining eight
defendants pled not guilty. After completion of the initial pleas,
the prosecution presented several police witnesses who testified to
the details of the 2007 police raid on the defendants' camp, their
arrests and subsequent seizure of weapons, ammunition and other
material.


3. (U) During the June 2-4 session, the prosecution continued with
the testimony of police officers. The prosecution also brought
forward Milan Veselinovic as a witness. Veselinovic is a former
Serbian Radical Party member of parliament whose wife owns a hunting
and military equipment store in the city of Novi Pazar. Veselinovic
testified that one of the defendants, Jasmin Smailovic, came to the
shop to inquire about weapons. Veselinovic could not confirm,
however, whether Smailovic or any of the other defendants bought
weapons.


4. (U) On June 4, the trial chamber released from custody two of
the defendants after taking into account their old age and family
situation. The deputy special prosecutor appealed the order, but
the Supreme Court rejected the appeal. Since the conclusion of the
June session, the other 12 defendants have remained in custody in
Belgrade's Central Prison.

Key Witness Fails to Appear in Court
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5. (SBU) The prosecution has thus far failed to present one of its
key witnesses in the case, Chief Mufti of the Islamic Community in
Serbia Muamer Zukorlic. After Zukorlic failed to appear on April
14, the trial chamber issued an arrest warrant but withdrew it when
he claimed security threats had prevented his appearance. Zukorlic
told us on May 12 he would definitely appear at the June session.
However, prior to the June session he informed the court that he
would again be unable to appear due to his need to attend a
religious meeting in Saudi Arabia. Defense lawyer Smrkovic told us
on June 26 that Mufti Zukorlic had helped concoct the terrorism
charges against his clients. According to Smrkovic, Zukorlic was
evading appearing before the court due to this involvement in the
case. Smrkovic assessed the prosecution would face a difficult task
of proving guilt without Zukorlic's testimony.

Trial to Continue in September
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6. (U) The next trial session is scheduled for September 9, when
Mufti Zukorlic and others, including an expert witness on DNA
analysis and another on military affairs, are to testify. On June
5, deputy special prosecutor Jovica Jovanovic told us that he would
present video-tapes and other seized materials from the defendants'
computers in the September session. He said he did not intend to
present religious materials as evidence, in order to avoid
instigating inter- and intra-religious tensions within Serbia.

Yet Another Indictment
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7. (SBU) A separate terrorism investigation conducted in September
2007 (reftel) resulted in the indictment of four additional members
of the Ahl-i Sunni movement in Serbia on March 12. The indicted
included three Serbian citizens from the Sandzak region and one
Kosovar Albanian. Investigators dropped charges against a fifth
person due to a lack of evidence. Like the first group on trial,
the four are charged with conspiracy to commit unconstitutional
activities, terrorism, and illegal possession of weapons and
explosive material. They will be tried by the same trial chamber.
The investigation concluded that the two groups were related, but

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legal constraints make it impossible for the prosecution to try them
under a single indictment. The prosecutor told us he expected this
trial would start in fall 2008.


8. (SBU) Post continues to monitor both cases and to provide
assistance to the prosecutor, including facilitating FBI assistance
(analysis of the seized hard drives) and cooperation with the UNMIK
prosecutor.

Comment
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9. (SBU) The ongoing trial continues to test Serbia's ability to
investigate and prosecute a complicated terrorism case based largely
on circumstantial evidence. The prosecutor and police have worked
to carry out this case in a professional manner thus far,
recognizing the implications it might have for Serbia's vulnerable
Muslim population. End Comment.

MUNTER