In a recent ruling, the Ljubljana District Court found an Iraqi national and applicant for international protection in Slovenia guilty of having been a member of the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist organisation in Iraq in 2016.

The accused first arrived in Slovenia in March 2019. After applying for international protection in Slovenia, he travelled to Germany on two occasions but was returned to Slovenia. Slovenian authorities subsequently opened an investigation, supported by information exchanged through international law enforcement cooperation, including with INTERPOL and the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

While the Slovenian authorities had obtained evidence concerning the alleged terrorist activities, further cooperation with the Iraqi authorities was necessary to verify existing information and obtain additional evidence for use in the criminal proceedings.

Obtaining evidence from another jurisdiction can require extensive judicial cooperation, particularly in complex terrorism investigations. In this case, the Slovenian authorities were also working against a strict deadline, as the maximum period for which the accused could remain in custody pending proceedings was fast approaching.

Thanks to the established cooperation channel at Eurojust, the Agency was able to rapidly facilitate contacts with the Iraqi authorities on behalf of the Slovenian prosecutors. This included seeking guidance in advance on the forthcoming judicial request, enabling the Iraqi authorities to prepare for and expedite its execution. This cooperation was facilitated by the recently established Working Arrangement between Eurojust and Iraq’s National Centre for International Judicial Cooperation (NCIJC).

Central to the proceedings was evidence concerning the accused’s inclusion on the payroll of the terrorist organisation’s Dat al-Sawari military unit. The evidence indicated that he had received a salary as well as an additional allowance to support his relatives.

The Working Arrangement between Eurojust and Iraq’s NCIJC provides a framework for strengthening judicial cooperation in serious cross-border criminal cases. Through Eurojust, national judicial authorities in EU Member States can facilitate contacts and cooperation with their Iraqi counterparts, including for the exchange of information and evidence needed for domestic criminal investigations and prosecutions.

Through close cooperation between Eurojust, the NCIJC and the Slovenian authorities, the necessary evidence was obtained from Iraq within the limited timeframe and could be used in the Slovenian proceedings. The evidence proved instrumental in establishing the accused’s membership of the terrorist organisation and securing the conviction.

While the judgment is not yet final, the presiding judge highlighted during the delivery of the judgment the importance of obtaining the evidence from Iraq - which Eurojust helped support - and its necessary validation. The timing was critical: without the swift cooperation and additional information obtained from Iraq, the defendant would have had to be released from detention, as the proceedings concluded on the final day permitted under the applicable custody time limit.

Eurojust’s cooperation with Iraq places particular emphasis on combating terrorism, core international crimes and organised crime. Iraq remains a key partner in efforts to fight impunity for these offences and to ensure that evidence available in Iraq can, where legally possible, support investigations and prosecutions in EU Member States.

The accused was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment in Slovenia. The judgment is the first in the country in which an applicant for international protection has been convicted of membership of a foreign terrorist organisation.

Background:

Eurojust: As the EU hub for criminal justice cooperation, Eurojust is actively connected to over 80 jurisdictions worldwide. To bring non-EU Member States closer together in the fight against serious cross-border crime, Eurojust is facilitating closer working relations by signing Working Arrangements that enable more structural long-term cooperation.

Working Arrangements allow the exchange of strategic information and best practices, and can facilitate access to Eurojust's tools for operational cooperation in investigations involving at least one EU Member State. Working Arrangements do not allow for the sharing of personal operational data. Learn more about Eurojust’s cooperation with the NCIJC.