On November 19, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Elvis Redzepagic
was sentenced to more than 16 years in prison for “attempting to provid


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Tech & Terrorism: U.S. Court Sentences ISIS Supporter To 16 Years In Prison
For Aiding Terror Group

 

(New York, N.Y.) — On November 19, the U.S. Department of Justice announced
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that Elvis Redzepagic was sentenced to more than 16 years in prison for
“attempting to provide material support and resources to the designated foreign
terrorist organizations the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and the
al-Nusrah Front.” In its release, the Justice Department stated that Redzepagic
successfully utilized Facebook to spread pro-ISIS ideology and ISIS propaganda
was found on his laptop. Additionally, it was found that he frequently visited
a Bosnian-language website primarily used in the Balkans by individuals who
wish to join ISIS in Syria.

 

From 2012 to 2015, an estimated 220-330 Bosnian foreign fighters traveled to
conflict zones in Iraq and Syria. Bosnians represented the largest contingency
of foreign fighters from the Western Balkans, and the second-highest number of
foreign fighters per capita out of any European country after Belgium.

 

Despite these challenges, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnia or BiH) has made
strides in its efforts to stem the tide of foreign fighters to Syria and has
not recorded new foreign fighters traveling abroad since 2015. BiH was the
first European country to begin prosecuting citizens who became foreign
fighters. A June 2016 report by the Sarajevo-based Atlantic Initiative noted
that travel between Bosnia and Syria had nearly come to a halt in early 2016
due in large part to efforts by Bosnian authorities, which had adapted its
counterterrorism legislation to prosecute both returning foreign fighters from
Syria, as well as aspiring ones.

 

Nonetheless, BiH has received international criticism for lenient sentencing
and failure to provide sufficient deradicalization resources in prison or upon
prisoners’ releases. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed BiH’s
repatriation efforts. As of 2019, approximately 260 Bosnian citizens—including
160 women and children—remained in Syrian camps. By April 2020, Bosnia had
indefinitely postponed the repatriation of foreign fighters and their families.

 

To read the Counter Extremism Project (CEP)’s resource Bosnia & Herzegovina:
Extremism and Terrorism, please click here
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