Jasminka Ramic
Jasminka Ramic | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1973 (age 50–51) |
| Nationality | joint Bosnian and United States citizenship |
| Occupation | convicted of supporting terrorism |
| Children | 2 |
Jasminka Ramic (born 1973) is a joint citizen of Bosnia and the United States who pled guilty to supporting terrorism in an American court, in 2015.[1][2][3][4] Ramic and five other Bosnian-Americans were charged in February 2015.[5][6] American intelligence officials described Ramic and Ramiz Zijad Hodzic, Sedina Unkic Hodzic, Medy Salkicevic, Armin Harcevic, and Nihad Rosic as being followers of Abdullah Ramo Pazara, another Bosnian-American, who travelled to Syria and volunteered to fight on behalf of Daesh, otherwise known as ISIS.
Ramic moved to the US in 2000, became an American citizen in 2006, but moved to Germany, in 2014, to live with relatives who had settled there, after filing bankruptcy in the USA.[7]
In 2012-2013 Ramic worked as a nutrition consultant in Rockford Illinois, for her local schoolboard.[8]
The other five individuals were all arrested by American law enforcement officials, when charges were laid.[7] Ramic was arrested by German officials, and chose to waive her right to contest her extradition. Unlike the other five Ramic chose to plead guilty, on September 28, 2015.[9] She was sentenced, on January 5, 2016, to three years imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release.[10]
During her sentencing the court was informed Ramic first sent funds to Pazara based on claims on his facebook page that he was helping orphans.[7] The court was informed that Ramic had a long history of supporting humanitarian causes. The prosecution argued that she sent funds to help support Pazara's activities Pazara on three occasions, in 2013, for a total of US$700, even after she learned he was fighting for the al Nusra Front.
According to press reports Ramic sent that $700 to Pazara even though the mortgage on her home was in default.[8]
Even though Ramic pled guilty in 2016, in 2017 she joined with her alleged co-conspirators in a motion to get their charges dropped.[11] They argued that Pazara should be considered a lawful combatant, claiming he fought with militia's that operated with the support of the US government.
Ramic was married, and bore two children.
References
[edit]- ^
Seamus Hughes. "Abdullah Ramo Pazara: Overview". George Washington University Program on Extremism. Archived from the original on 2017-09-30. Retrieved 2017-09-29.
NBC News quoted unnamed "authorities" in stating that Pazara may have been killed in 2014. Pazara's activities are well-documented in the indictment of six other Bosnian-Americans who were charged with providing material support to terrorists and one count of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists.
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"Feds Charge 6 With Terrorism-Related Crimes Involving Links to ISIS". NBC News. 2015-02-07. Archived from the original on 2017-09-30. Retrieved 2017-09-29.
Prosecutors say Pazara communicated through Facebook and other social media with the six people charged.
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Samantha Masunaga (2015-02-08). "6 Bosnian immigrants indicted in alleged overseas terror financing ring". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2017-09-30. Retrieved 2017-09-29.
One name that comes up repeatedly in the document, but is not among the indicted, is that of Abdullah Ramo Pazara, a Bosnian native who also went by three other names. Pazara became a naturalized citizen of the U.S. and lived in St. Louis, Mo., for a time before leaving the country in May 2013.
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Seamus Hughes, Bennett Clifford (2017-05-17). "First He Became an American—Then He Joined ISIS". Atlantic magazine. Archived from the original on 2017-09-30. Retrieved 2017-09-29.
To uncover Abdullah Ramo Pazara's story, we spent months tracking down the fragments of Pazara's life from around the world—U.S. federal court documents in the Eastern District of Missouri, reports of military records from a Serbian nationalist paramilitary formation, truckers' licenses from the state of Michigan, media accounts, Facebook posts from a villa in Azaz, Syria.
- ^ Sean Muserallo (2015-02-06). "UPDATE: Rockford resident charged with providing support to ISIS". WREX. Rockford, Illinois. Archived from the original on 2017-10-01. Retrieved 2017-10-01.
The indictment also states Ramic transferred $300 via Western Union to an alleged co-conspirator in St. Louis in September 2013. The federal complaint states that money eventually was transferred overseas to support Abdullah Pazara and others fighting with foreign terrorist organizations. It states she also sent $250 using the same method in November 2013.
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Chuck Goudie (2015-02-06). "Feds charge 2 suburban Chicagoans in ISIS plot". ABC Chicago. Chicago. Retrieved 2017-10-01.
The two local terror suspects are identified as: Mediha Medy Salkicevic, 34 of Schiller Park, Illinois; and Jasminka Ramic, 42, of Rockford, Illinois.
- ^ a b c Jennifer S. Mann (2016-01-05). "Woman gets 3 years in terror funding case with St. Louis ties". St Louis Post-Dispatch. St Louis. Retrieved 2017-10-01.
- ^ a b "UPDATE: Jasminka Ramic Arrested In Germany". My Stateline. Rockford Illinois. 2015-02-11. Archived from the original on 2017-10-01.
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"Bosnian Immigrant Pleads Guilty to Role in ISIS Plot". NBC Chicago. 2015-09-28. Archived from the original on 2015-11-02. Retrieved 2017-10-01.
Jasminka Ramic entered the plea to one count of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists in U.S. District Court in St. Louis. Her sentencing is set for Jan. 5.
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"UPDATE: Woman Sentenced for Role in Effort to Aid Terror Groups". 23WIFR. 2017-01-05. Archived from the original on 2017-03-04. Retrieved 2017-10-01.
Ramic is among six Bosnian immigrants indicted in February for funneling money and military supplies to ISIS and al-Qaida in Iraq. The other suspects have pleaded not guilty.
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Robert Patrick (2017-07-26). "St. Louis County residents, others seek to dismiss charges in terror funding case". St Louis Post-Dispatch. Archived from the original on 2017-10-01.
The defense motion to dismiss two counts of the indictment says that Abdullah Ramo Pazara fought for groups supported by the U.S. government and therefore "qualified for combatant immunity for their acts of legitimate warfare against the Bashar al-Assad regime."