Swiss court jails two men on Kosovo-linked terror charges

The Swiss court heard how the two defendants allegedly aimed to destabilise a region in the east of Kosovo in order to establish a caliphate and impose Sharia law. Keystone-SDA

The Federal Criminal Court has sentenced two men from the Balkans, the so-called "Frères de Genève" [the Geneva Brothers], to 30 and 53 months in prison for their support of the Islamic State group.

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However, the court on Monday acquitted them of the charge of participating in the Islamist organisation in Kosovo, the Viti Brothers.

The first defendant was given a 30-month prison sentence, 15 of which are suspended, and a fine of 120 days’ imprisonment at CHF30, also suspended. The Kosovar national was expelled from Switzerland for five years.

His co-defendant was sentenced to 53 months in prison and 15 suspended day fines of CHF30. As a dual citizen of Switzerland and Macedonia, he cannot be deported.

The 1,181 days he spent in prison before the verdict is deducted from the sentences. As he remained in jail for 149 days too long, the Swiss authorities will pay him compensation of CHF13,410 for moral damages.

These sentences are not final and may be appealed to the Court of Appeal of the Federal Criminal Court.

In its verdict, the court found that the acts of which the two defendants were accused amounted to support for a terrorist organisation, in this case the Islamic State. The dual national was also found guilty of supporting the group Jabhat al-Nusra.

Fraud and money laundering

The two men were also convicted of attempting to bribe a Kosovar magistrate and of obstructing the criminal proceedings of the Kosovar authorities. They were also found guilty of a number of other financial offences, including fraud, money laundering and forgery.

However, the judges in Bellinzona, canton Ticino, did not uphold the charge of participation in a terrorist organisation. The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland had accused the defendants of being the leader, or a member, of the “Geneva Brothers”, which was the Swiss branch of the Kosovar “Viti Brothers” organisation.

The ‘Viti Brothers’ allegedly aimed to destabilise a region in the east of Kosovo in order to establish a caliphate and impose Sharia law. While the two defendants provided financial support, it could not be established that the main aim of this Kosovar organisation was to commit acts of violence or terrorism, or that it was involved in such acts.

Adapted from French by DeepL/sb

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