Ex-Bosnia Foreign Fighter on Hunger Strike

The health of Abu Hamza was deteriorating fast, local media on Thursday reported, quoting his lawyer, Osman Mulahalilovic.

Abu Hamza was arrested on October 6 and brought to the Immigration Centre in the southern Sarajevo suburb of Lukavica, where he was visited by his lawyer on October 8.

Local media speculate that this could be a prelude to Abu Hamza’s extradition. His case reflects the complexity of the problem which Bosnian authorities face with the remaining foreign Islamic fighters, who were during the war fighting alongside with Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims).
 
It is believed that between 2,000 and 5,000 foreign Islamic fighters came to Bosnia during the 1992-1995 war. Most of them left or were expelled after the war, but a few hundred married local women, had families and remained in Bosnia. Syrian national Imad al-Husayn, known as Abu Hamza, was one of them.
 
He obtained citizenship in 1994 but authorities, claiming he posed a threat to national security, revoked it in 2001. Bosnian authorities and local media also speculated that Abu Hamza may have been linked to al Qaeda - though none of those claims and accusations were backed up by any evidence.
 
Bosnia’s Constitutional Court had previously accepted Mulahalilovic’s claim that Abu Hamza – although no longer a Bosnian citizen – should not be separated from his family as it would violate the most basic European human rights principles and laws. Therefore, the Constitutional Court sent the case back to a lower court for a retrial.
 
Yet despite that, Bosnian police arrested Abu Hamza on October 6 near his home. As of October 7, he has entered a hunger strike.
 
Abu Hamza’s lawyer and some media criticised Bosnian authorities for moving against Abu Hamza and others, without any concrete evidence.
 
Back in 2002, the Bosnian government handed over a group of six former Muslim fighters to the United States. They were transported to the Guantanamo prison, where they remain to today, although no charges were ever pressed against them. Because of this, the Bosnian government has been facing strong criticism and pressure from local media and non-governmental organisations to bring the group back.