Mirsad Bektašević

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Mirsad Bektašević (born July 30, 1987), alias Maximus, is a Swedish citizen of Bosniaks descent who in 2005 was arrested in Sarajevo charged with planning a terrorist attack against an unnamed target. Bektašević was convicted in 2007 alongside three other men and sentenced to 15 years and 4 months of imprisonment.

Mirsad Bektašević was born to Bosniak parents in the Butmir neighbourhood of Ilidža, which is a suburb of the capital Sarajevo. His father Adem Bektašević was killed in a traffic accident while Mirsad Bektašević was a young boy. In 1994, Bektašević moved to Sweden together with his mother Nafija, whose maiden name is Hamidović, and younger brother because of the Siege of Sarajevo. He grew up in Kungälv north of Gothenburg. Bektašević frequently attended the Bellevue Mosque in central Gothenburg[1].

On October 19, 2005, Bektašević was arrested as police raided his aunt's apartment in Butmir, Sarajevo. Abdulkadir Cesur, a 20-year-old Turkish citizen, born and raised in Denmark, was also arrested at the time. In the raid, police found a home-made suicide belt, 18kg of factory-made explosives, timing devices, detonators and a Hi-8 videotape with footage demonstrating how to make a home-made bomb.[2] Also retrieved in the raid was a video of Bektašević and Cesur in ski masks, surrounded by explosives and weapons, which was to be published following the attacks. In the video they say that they will attack sites in Europe to punish nations with forces in Afghanistan and Iraq.[3] They were suspected of planning a suicide attack against a Western embassy in Sarajevo. The two had been under surveillance after arriving in Sarajevo on September 27[4].

The arrests triggered police raids in London and Denmark, where nine others, including Younes Tsouli (alias Irhabi 007), a 22-year-old Moroccan living in London who became an infamous cyber terrorist and key conduit for al-Qaeda in Iraq, were arrested. The arrest of Tsouli was possible due to information found on Bektašević's computer and mobile phone.[3]

After his arrest in Sarajevo, Bektašević was also interrogated by the British intelligence service MI5, who named him as the organizer of a suspected plot by Islamic terrorists to carry out multiple suicide bombings of the White House and the Capitol in Washington DC[5].

Bektašević allegedly was an Internet recruiter, under the alias Maximus, for young Muslims to join the insurgency in Iraq. According to the British newspaper The Times, citing police and intelligence sources, Bektašević had visited the former leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and run one of his web sites[6]. Bektašević also went by the alias Abu Imaad As-Sandzaki on various internet forums.

The trial against Bektašević and three other men, the Danish Turk Cesur Abdulkadir and two Bosniak nationals named Bajro Ikanović and Senad Hasanović, started on June 26, 2006, in Sarajevo[7].

On January 10, 2007, Mirsad Bektašević was sentenced to 15 years and 4 months in prison. Apart from terrorism crimes, Bektašević was convicted of illicit arms possession and violent resistance. Out of the other charged in the trial, Cesur Abdulkadir received 13 years, while Bajro Ikanović was sentenced to 8 years and Senad Hasanović to 2 years and 6 months in prison[8].

On January 16, a Danish citizen of Bosniak descent who is on trial in Denmark on terror-related charges, revealed in the court that he had planned a robbery together with Bektašević[9].

[edit] References

  1. ^ Lisinski, Stefan. "Säpo utreder medhjälp till terrorbrott", Dagens Nyheter, 2005-11-11. Retrieved on 2007-01-02. (Swedish) 
  2. ^ "Trio 'linked to terrorist films' (includes video clip in ski masks)", BBC News, 2007-04-25. 
  3. ^ a b Brian Krebs. "Terrorism's Hook Into Your Inbox", Washington Post, 2007-07-05. 
  4. ^ McGrory, Daniel. "British computer whiz-kid exports terror via internet", The Times, 2006-06-07. Retrieved on 2006-12-27. 
  5. ^ Leppard, David. "MI5 probes suicide attack plots on Washington", The Times, 2005-11-06. Retrieved on 2006-12-27. 
  6. ^ "Swedish terror suspect "visited al-Zarqawi"", The Local, 2005-11-19. Retrieved on 2006-12-27. 
  7. ^ Ewing, Adam. "Trial of 'terror Swede' begins in Bosnia", The Local, 2006-06-26. Retrieved on 2006-12-27. 
  8. ^ El Mahdi, Josef. "Svensk tonåring dömd för terrorism", Svenska Dagbladet, 2007-01-10. Retrieved on 2007-01-10. (Swedish) 
  9. ^ Krogh, Kasper. "Terrorsigtet stjal for at støtte tsunamiofre", Berlingske Tidende, 2007-01-17. Retrieved on 2007-01-17. (Danish) 

[edit] External links


Persondata
NAME Bektašević, Mirsad
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bektasevic, Mirsad
SHORT DESCRIPTION Terrorist
DATE OF BIRTH July 30, 1987
PLACE OF BIRTH Ilidža, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH