The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina sentenced Adnan Catic, a returnee from the Syrian battlefields, to three years in prison for organising a terrorist group and taking part in an armed conflict abroad.

The verdict was pronounced based on the plea agreement that Catic and his attorney reached with the Prosecutor's Office.

Catic was found guilty for leaving the country on July 1, 2013 from the Sarajevo Airport via Turkey and illegally crossing onto the territory of Syria, where he joined the terrorist group ‘Jabhat Al Nusra’ and was trained to become a sniper of this group, participating in the battles against the Syrian legitimate forces until the end of 2021.

Prosecutor Dubravko Campara recalled that a warrant for Catic was issued and that based on photographs published on Facebook, the police determined he was present in the Syrian warzones.

Campara also said that Catic has been entirely “deradicalised” and that there is no risk he could commit the same crime again.

“We find that the foreseen prison sentence is adequate,” he said.

Attorney Senad Dupovac said that his client already told the judge he regretted his actions and asked for another chance. In addition to that, he noted that Catic spent two years in Turkey as a construction worker and that Turkey, which is a NATO member state, would have surely extradited him if their intelligence services had assessed he posed a threat.

“I regret my actions. I wish the community offered me another chance for the sake of my children,” Catic said, adding that he had no motive to escape. He also asked to spent time with his family before he is sent to prison.