A special Belgrade court on Friday sentenced 12 members of a radical Wahhabi movement to more than 60 years in prison after they were found guilty of planning terrorist activities and illegal weapons possession.
Fifteen members of the group were arrested in Serbia’s southern Sandzak region, which has a substantial Muslim population.
The trial started in January last year but 12 members of the group refused to engage defence lawyers, saying they did not recognise a Serbian court and could be “judged only by Allah”.
Leader of the group, Senad Ramovic, was sentenced to 13 years, while another ten members received from six months to eight years in jail. Three members of the group were acquitted and one is being tried separately.
The group operated a terrorist training camp on Ninaja mountain near Sandzak’s regional centre of Novi Pazar and police discovered a large cache of weapons, explosives and ammunition at the camp.
Police also discovered maps and photos of buildings they were planning to blow up including the US embassy in Belgrade.
According to the indictment, the group also planned to kill the head of Islamic Community in Sandzak Muamer Zukorlic, after accusing him of being a CIA agent.
Zukorlic testified at the trial that he had heard about a plot against his life, but pressed no charges and said he had forgiven his would-be assassins.
The Wahabi ideology is a conservative form of Sunni Islam attributed to 18th century Saudi scholar Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab.
It was brought to the Balkans by thousands of mujahadeen fighters who came to fight in support of Bosnian Muslims during the 1992-1995 civil war in Bosnia.
Experts say the number of Wahabis in Bosnia and other Muslim regions of the Balkans is still relatively small.
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