BiH set to deport former Islamic fighter to Croatia

makfax ^ | January 23, 2008

[joan]

Zagreb /23/01/ 11:51

Abu Hamza, a Syrian-born Islamic fighter who fought in Bosnia during 1992-1995 war, faces deportation and must leave BiH within next 15 days, Croatian media said.

The same sources say Hamza, the informal leader of the former mujahideen community in the central Bosnian village of Bocinja, must be handed over to his homeland Syria or deported to Croatia, the country where he stayed before arriving in Bosnia.

BiH TV said Bosnian court overturned Hamza's appeal on Tuesday. The appealed the Bosnian authorities' decision not to grant him an asylum.

Abu Hamza was also stripped of Bosnian citizenship. He gained Bosnian citizenship during the 1992-1995 war due to the fact that he fought with and was commander of the El-Mujahid unit and married a Bosnian woman. The unit was under the official jurisdiction of the Bosnian Army during the war, though it operated autonomously and was comprised of foreign fighters from Islamic countries.

In the eyes of Bosnian laws, Hamza must leave the country within a 15 day deadline.

[joan]

"deported to Croatia, the country where he stayed before arriving in Bosnia"

Croatia was instrumental in bringing in the Mujahideen fighters and weapons for the Muslims. They just never expected those Muslims to turn on Bosnian Croats - thought they'd be content enough destroying the Serbs villages, torturing and beheading them.