Omer Behmen (10 June 1922 – 23 April 2009) was a Bosnian politician. He was one of the closest associates of

Alija Izetbegović Alija Izetbegović (; ; 8 August 1925 – 19 October 2003) was a Bosnian politician, lawyer, Islamic philosopher and author, who in 1992 became the first president of the Presidency of the newly independent Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ...

, the first president of

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

. Behmen was also one of the founders of the

Party of Democratic Action The Party of Democratic Action ( bs, Stranka demokratske akcije; abbr. SDA) is a Bosniak nationalist, conservative political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina. History The Party of Democratic Action (SDA) was founded on 26 May 1990 in Sarajevo, ...

political party.

Imprisonment

In April 1983, Behmen and twelve other Bosniak activists (including future president

, Melika Salihbegović,

Edhem Bičakčić Edhem Bičakčić (3 May 1884 – 31 December 1941) was a Bosnian politician who became the only Mayor of Sarajevo to serve two nonconsecutive terms, first from 1928 to 1929, then again from 1935 to 1939. He was a close associate of Mehmed Spaho ...

, Mustafa Spahić and Hasan Čengić) were tried before a Sarajevo court for a variety of charges called "offences as principally hostile activity inspired by Muslim nationalism, association for purposes of hostile activity and hostile propaganda". All of those tried were convicted and Behmen was sentenced to twelve years in prison. The

verdict In law, a verdict is the formal trier of fact, finding of fact made by a jury on matters or questions submitted to the jury by a judge. In a bench trial, the judge's decision near the end of the trial is simply referred to as a finding. In Engl ...

was strongly criticized by Western human rights organisations, including

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

and

Helsinki Watch Helsinki Watch was a private American non-governmental organization established by Robert L. Bernstein in 1978, designed to monitor the former Soviet Union's compliance with the 1975 Helsinki Accords. Expanding in size and scope, Helsinki Watch be ...

, which claimed that the case was based on "communist propaganda", and the accused were not charged with either using or advocating violence. In 1988, as communist rule faltered, he was pardoned and released after almost five years in prison.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Behmen, Omer 1922 births 2009 deaths Bosniak politicians Bosniaks of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Sunni Muslims Bosnia and Herzegovina writers Party of Democratic Action politicians Politicians from Mostar Politicians of the Bosnian War Bosnia and Herzegovina people of World War II Bosnian nationalism