The UNODC Terrorism Prevention Branch (UNODC/TPB) organized a two-day national workshop entitled "Investigation and Adjudication of Cases Involving Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTFs) in South-Eastern Europe" from 22 to 23 March 2017 in Belgrade. The workshop is part of a project to support a specialized training module on the prosecution of FTFs for criminal justice sector practitioners from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo (under Security Council resolution 1244 (1999), Montenegro, Serbia, and The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Additionally, under the project UNODC will carry out several two-day regional workshops based on a newly developed training module for FTF-related cases.
The workshop in Serbia brought together officials representing the Ministry of Interior, Judiciary, Prosecutorial Services, as well as UNODC/TPB and international experts in the relevant field. The workshop aimed to provide participants with an enhanced understanding of the regional and international legal framework dealing with FTFs. It enabled participants to familiarize themselves with and discuss the legal instruments relevant to the United Nations and Council of Europe that deal with FTFs. International experts delivered presentations on topics covered in the manual and led enriched discussions on special investigative techniques in FTF cases, the collection of e-evidence, a review of the financial components of FTF related investigations and analysis of online investigations. The workshop concluded with a review session in which the participants applied their knowledge obtained at the workshop by discussing an actual case study based on a relevant investigation conducted in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Furthermore, the workshop promoted and supported the use of the rule of law-based strategies and compliance with international human rights standards to strengthen the investigation, prosecution, and adjudication of terrorism-related offences.
The event was organized under UNODC/TPB's Global Project on Strengthening the Legal Regime against Terrorism and was funded by the Government of the United States of America.