VZCZCXRO9267
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBW #0662/01 1851039
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 031039Z JUL 08 ZDK RUEHVL 0874 1851127
FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0128
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEAWJA/DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC

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 
 
BELGRADE 00000662  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶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 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶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 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶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 
------------------------------ 
 
¶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 
---------------------- 
 
¶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 
 
BELGRADE 00000662  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
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 
------- 
 
¶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