The UNODC's Terrorism Prevention Branch (UNODC/TPB) organized a two-day national workshop for Bosnia and Herzegovina on the investigation and adjudication of cases involving foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) in South Eastern Europe in Sarajevo from 6 to 7 September 2017.
The workshop brought together officials representing the Ministry of Interior, judiciary, prosecutorial services, and international experts from the relevant fields. The workshop was opened by representatives of the Centre for Judicial and Prosecutorial Training of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Public Institution Centre for Judicial and Prosecutorial Training of the Republika Srpska, and the Judicial Commission of the Brčko District.
The workshop provided 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 relevant UN and Council of Europe legal instruments dealing with FTFs. During the workshop, experts delivered presentations covering specialized topics of the training manual which led to enriched discussions on special investigative techniques in FTF cases, analysis of online investigations, the collection of e-evidence and a review of the financial components of FTF-related investigations. The workshop concluded with a review session in which the participants applied what they learned in the training by discussing a case study based on a real investigation conducted in the country.
The workshop promoted and supported the use of rule of law-based strategies and compliance with international human rights standards to strengthen the investigation, prosecution, and adjudication of terrorism-related offences. UNODC/TPB will hold a launch event for the publication of the training manual in Vienna on 20 October 2017.
The workshop was part of a project, generously funded by the United States of America, to implement a specialized training manual on the prosecution of FTFs for criminal justice sector practitioners from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo (under UNSCR 1244), Montenegro, Serbia, and The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.