The top court in Bosnia has found a Bosnian Muslim man guilty of fighting with the Islamic State (IS) extremist group in Syria and sentenced him to six years in prison.
The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina also found Jasmin Keserovic guilty on the second count of having published an incitement to murder on the Internet in 2016.
Judges who announced the sentence on February 25 said that by publicly calling on Muslims to kill Christian soldiers and civilians alike, the defendant “demonstrated specific ruthlessness.”
Judges rejected defense claims that Keserovic was in Syria for charity work to help the local population amid the war. The defense can appeal the sentence.
Keserovic was part of a group of seven Bosnian men flown back from Syria on a U.S. Air Force flight in December 2019 along with 18 women and children.
Bosnia became the first country in Europe in 2014 to announce prison terms for its citizens who fought abroad.
Some 42 suspected IS fighters who have since returned to the country were tried and, in most cases, sentenced to prison.
