Two Algerians arrested by Bosnian police this week because of reported links with security threats directed at the US embassy in Sarajevo were handed over to the supreme court for investigation, a court official said on Friday.
The court official confirmed to AFP that the two Algerians arrested on Wednesday were "currently under investigation by the supreme court,” without revealing the charges.
The supreme court handles investigations only in cases of severe criminal charges including international terrorism.
"The investigation will prove whether the suspicion that the two could be linked with criminal acts of terrorism is well-based," Tomislav Limov, deputy interior minister for the Muslim-Croat part of Bosnia, was quoted by Oslobodjenje daily as saying.
A source close to Bosnia's top international envoy Wolfgang Petritsch, told AFP the Algerians, one of whom also had a Bosnian passport, had been arrested in Sarajevo on suspicion of being responsible for a telephone threat directed at the US embassy.
The police said on Thursday the two were arrested "due to indications that they may be linked with certain criminal acts", stressing that the operation was part of stepped-up security measures following the September 11 attacks on the United States.
The US and British embassies in Bosnia have been closed since Wednesday because of a "credible security threat" thought to be linked to the US-led military operation in Afghanistan, officials said.
According to the Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR), it is believed that some 3,000 Islamic fightersor mujahedeens passed through Bosnia during the war to fight alongside Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) soldiers against Bosnian Serb and Croat forces.
Around 300 of these fighters remained in the country and settled down. Some were found to be involved in criminal activities in Bosnia and abroad, according to the report.
The IWPR claims that “the vast majority of people who live in Bosnia view mujahedeens with suspicion and hostility because of their radical religious and ideological practices.” – Albawaba.com
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