Radovan Karadzic, Sarajevo is not your city, and you have no right to say that it is, just as you do not have the right to say in public, even if it’s in court, that someone has dug up bones around Bosnia and brought them to Srebrenica to make a fake graveyard. This is insulting.
Bosnia’s “Most Dangerous” Criminal Sentenced
Sarajevo | 24 June 2009 | Srecko Latal
Ali Gasi, 25, and his gang are currently believed to be “the most dangerous” criminals in the country, police and other officials who worked on the case told Balkan Insight on Wednesday.
In a landmark trial, Gasi and seven of his gang members were convicted on Tuesday afternoon in the of charges including attempted murder, association with a criminal organization, money laundering, racketeering, usury and extortion as well as illegal construction and illegal occupation of real-estate.
Gasi was also tried for last year’s murder of another renowned Sarajevo war-lord and criminal, Ramiz Delalic "Celo", but the court found there was not enough evidence to convict him on that account.
Gasi and several members of his gang were arrested in a major clampdown on organized crime in Sarajevo in January 2008. After the arduous investigation and trial, Gasi was on Tuesday sentenced to 20 years in prison, while his brother and six other associates were sentenced to jail terms ranging from one to six and a half years.
The court also ordered the repossession of Gasi’s property, including 200,000 euros in cash and two illegally constructed buildings in the center of Sarajevo.
The public prosecutor, Oleg Cavka, expressed his satisfaction with the conviction, but said he would nonetheless appeal for a tougher sentence. The defense also announced it would appeal the decision.
