Bosnia Refuses to Extradite Terror Suspect to Tunisia

The Bosnian state court on Thursday declined to detain Elvir Sarac and deport him to Tunisia, where he is wanted on terrorism charges over the killing in 2016 of a Tunisian national who Palestinian group Hamas claim as a member.

"The court, first of all, indisputably established that Elvir Sarac is a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and by checking the records of bilateral international agreements, it was found that Bosnia and Herzegovina and Tunisia do not have a signed bilateral agreement that allows the extradition of nationals for the purposes of prosecution," the state court told BIRN.

Bosnia's State Investigation and Protection Agency arrested Sarac on Tuesday on an Interpol 'red warrant' requested by Tunisia.

But Sarac insisted that he had travelled to Tunisia in December 2016 for business purposes and had no knowledge of the alleged offence.

"I'm not guilty. I did not participate in what I am accused of, nor do I know what happened at all. I do not want to be extradited," Sarac said.

He is wanted over the killing of Mohammed Zawari, reported to have been an aerospace engineer and drone expert. Zawari was shot dead in December 2016 near the Tunisian city of Sfax, according to Reuters news agency.

Hamas, which claimed Zawari as a member, said it believed Israel was behind the killing.

Earlier this month, Croatian police arrested another Bosnian who is wanted by Tunisia over the shooting of Zawari.