Trial of Muslim fundamentalists in Sarajevo
BBC Summary of World Broadcasts - August 2, 1983, Tuesday

Thirteen members of a former secret organization which aimed to turn Bosnia-Hercegovina into a Muslim state organized on Islamic principles and break up the Yugoslav Federation, went on trial in Sarajevo on 18th July (Tanjug 1906 gmt 18 Jul 83). The trial is presided over by judge Rizah Hadzic; those indicted are: Alija Izetbegovic; Omer Behmen: Hasan Cengic; Ismet Kasumagic; Edhem Bicakcic; Huso Zivalj; Salih Behmen; Rusid Prguda; Mustafa Spahic; Dzemal Latic; Melika Salihbegovic; and Dervis Djurdjevic. Because of the poor state of health of Rusid Prguda the proceedings against him will be conducted separately. The group is accused of having compiled a declaration on a programme of Islamization which, in essence, represented an up-dated version of the programme of the former Young Muslims terrorist organization. The group had been winning support for their views since the time of their studies at the Islamic Theological Faculty and attracted support from Muslim school pupils among others. The ringleaders had contacts with Muslim nationalists who had migrated overseas and who indulged in enemy activity against Yugoslavia; they also established links with non-aligned countries in an attempt to manipulate their institutions (Tanjug 1414 gmt 18 Jul 83). On 21st July the court resumed work in camera and questioned Omer Behmen on his links with ''enemy emigres in a neighbouring country and with representatives of a foreign non-aligned country in the same neighbouring country''. (Tanjug 1433 gmt 21 Jul 83).

SECTION: Part 2 Eastern Europe; B. INTERNAL AFFAIRS; YUGOSLAVIA; EE/7401/B/1; 

SOURCES: Yugoslav News Agency 1906 gmt 18 Jul 83 ; Yugoslav News Agency 1414 gmt 18 Jul 83 ; Yugoslav News Agency 1433 gmt 21 Jul 83

Copyright 1983 The British Broadcasting Corporation
Posted for Fair Use only.

Sentences Reduced on Muslim Nationalists
BBC Summary of World Broadcasts - June 2, 1984, Saturday

The Supreme Court of Bosnia-Hercegovina today [30th May] announced its decision on the sentences imposed in August last year by the Sarajevo District Court on a group of persons for counter-revolutionary activities from positions of Muslim nationalism. After considering appeals from all the accused, the Supreme Court judged that some of the actions of the accused, on the grounds of which the court of the first instance had found them guilty, did not have the characteristics of criminal acts and that the actions of the accused Ismet Kasumagic and Hasan Cengic had the characteristics of only one criminal act - that of conspiring to carry out hostile activity - under Article 136, Para Two of the SFRY Criminal Code and not also of a criminal act of hostile propaganda under Article 133 Para One of the SFRY Criminal Code, under which they were found guilty by the court of the first instance. Apart from this, the Supreme Court judged that there were mitigating circumstances concerning the accused which the court of the first instance had omitted to take into account when pronouncing sentences.

Proceeding from this, the Supreme Court partly allowed the appeals by the accused and pronounced the following sentences on the organisers of the group for counter-revolutionary threat to the social order: Alija Izetbegovic 12 and Omer Behmen 11 years' imprisonment. The sentences of imprisonment pronounced on the members of the group were: Hasan Cengic seven years, Ismet Kasumagic eight years, Edhem Bicakcici four years and Huso Zivalj three years and six months. The Supreme Court of Bosnia- Hercegovina imposed terms of imprisonment on the rest of the accused who had been sentenced by the court of the first instance for the criminal act of hostile propaganda, as follows: Salih Behmen four, Mustafa Spahic three, Dzemal Latic four, Melika Salihbegovic and Dervis Djurdjevic three and a half years' imprisonment. Compared with the sentences pronounced by the court of the first instance the Supreme Court's sentences are lower by two to three years. The Supreme Court of Bosnia-Hercegovina rejected the appeal by Djula Bicakcic as unfounded and confirmed the sentence of six months' imprisonment, which she served while under investigation. In view of the fact that the criminal acts concerned are defined in the SFRY Criminal Code, the accused and their defence are still able to submit a request to the Federal Court for a special review of the sentences they are now serving. [Tanjug in English on 30th May (1941 gmt)added the following paragraph: ''This was not a trial either of a religion, or believers, as defendants tried to present from its outset,'' stated the District Court in prououncing the sentences. Members of this nationalist group were convicted of attempts to establish an 'ethnically pure', Muslim Bosnia-Hercegovina and to replace the social system in Yugoslavia with one based on the principles of Islam.]

SOURCE: Yugoslav News Agency 1240 gmt 30 May 84

SECTION: Part 2 Eastern Europe; B. INTERNAL AFFAIRS; YUGOSLAVIA; EE/7659/B/1; 

Copyright 1984 The British Broadcasting Corporation  
Posted for Fair Use only.

NOTE: Mustafa Spahic is currently a member of the SDA, and a writer for the SDA's newsletter "Ljiljan."