Page 71 - Cyber Terrorism and Extremism as Threat to Critical Infrastructure Protection

MILE ŠIKMAN: RADICALIZATION AS A CAUSE OF TERRORISM – THE CASE OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Europe (Kohlmann, 2004), which, among other things, manifested the aggressive imposition
of their views and behaviour publicly, as well as intolerance towards members belonging to
the same religion (Lebl, 2014, pp 4, 13). The second stage (1995-2012) included the establish-
ment and development of radicalization among the local population, and the formation of the
first Salafi communities in isolated and remote villages, to which BiH citizens gradually began
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to arrive . Finally, the third stage (2012 to date) was characterized by BiH citizens leaving for
Syria and Iraq to join the ISIL and participate in terrorist activities (Šikman, 2018, pp 121-125).

Each of these stages is characterized by a pronounced process of radicalization, based on
the concept described in the previous section. In terms of the manifestation of radical views
(behavioural component) and the commission of specific terrorist acts, radicalization was first
manifested at the attitudinal level (cognitive component) and then at the behavioural level.
Each of these cases was caused by a different set of circumstances and the offenders’ personal
characteristics in specific cases.

The following section gives a brief overview of the offenders of terrorism offences, with
reference to the degree of their radicalization (cf. Šikman, 2018; Šikman, 2016). Due to the
limited space, other characteristics, such as the age of the offender, family and personal cir-
cumstances, or social status will not be addressed. In order to gain a deeper insight into the
problem of radicalization, it would certainly be necessary to consider these factors as well, so
the research results may be regarded as only partial.

3.1 The Offenders of Terrorism Offences in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Although foreign fighters – mujahideen – were involved in numerous incidents following the
Bosnian war, the first terrorist attack was carried out in Mostar in 1997, when a car bomb was
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activated in the city district . Three foreign nationals (from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Ye-
men), who came to BiH led by the global jihad ideology and were directly linked to al-Qaeda,
were charged with this terrorist attack. Although charged with terrorism, they were actually
convicted of the offence of endangering the public on the basis of a reduced charge (Lucic,
2001, p 133), which does not detract from the fact that they acted as radicalized individuals
in order to achieve the global goals of the jihadist movement. This is further supported by the
fact that, following this attack, the first defendant managed to escape from BiH . However,
21
he was arrested in Pakistan in 2001 and extradited to the United States and was detained at the
military base in Guantánamo Bay. The second defendant stated that he, being a member of al-
Qaeda, completed military training in Afghanistan and arrived in BiH in 1992 as a fighter in the
El Mujahid Detachment, subsequently promoted to company commander (Glavonjic, 2009).
The third defendant was wanted by the Italian judiciary for the offence of terrorism, but the
domestic courts rejected his extradition and he was subsequently released (Lucic, 2001, p 132).

One of the terrorism proceedings was conducted in 2001 at the Supreme Court of the Federa-
tion of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), in the case of the “Algerian Group” made up of six

19 The BiH government authorities identified their activities as a method of spreading radical religious ideology and
recruiting new supporters, therefore characterizing them as the epicentre of extremism and radicalism (Minis-
tarstvo bezbjednosti Bosne i Hercegovine [MB BiH], 2017, p 30).
20 In this terrorist attack, 50 people were injured and substantial material damage was caused (a large number of
parked vehicles were damaged, including the surrounding housing units).
21 On 7 August 2007, on the order of the Municipal Court in Žepče, an international arrest warrant was issued for
the commission of terrorism offence, Article 146, Paragraph 1 of the former FBiH Criminal Code (see: Federalna
uprava policije, n.d.)
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