Eurasia Press & News
As it stands, what deradicalisation programmes Serbia might pursue would only apply to people convicted of fighting in the Middle East since those who fought with pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine have all walked free.
Convicted of terrorism in 2019 for fighting with Islamic State, four Serbian citizens – Senad Plojovic, Izudin Crnovrsanin, Tefik Mujovic and Ferat Kasumovic – will have their names entered into a central terrorism database due to go live next year.
Presenting the bill to create the database, the country’s justice minister, Maja Popovic, told lawmakers in early June that it was a “clear indicator” of the measures taken by Serbia to prevent and fight terrorism.
But while security experts and civil society groups have welcomed the database as a step in the right direction, they say it is one of very few steps taken so far by authorities in Serbia to help ‘deradicalise’ those of its citizens who have fought in foreign wars.
