The Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and HerzegovinaNews
INDICTMENT ISSUED AGAINST THREE PERSONS FOR WAR CRIMES COMMITTED IN SREBRENIK
01.07.2014. 14:26
The following persons are charged:
1. Ibračević Ekrem, born on July 6, 1960 in Sladna - Srebrenik Municipality, BiH citizen,
2. Smajlović Faruk aka "Puka", born on March 12, 1971 in Tuzla, BiH citizen, and
3. Čović Sejdalija, aka "Sejdo" and "Ćova", born on June 5, 1961 in Srebrenik, BiH citizen.
The accused are charged with having committed war crimes against civilians, in the period from the beginning of June 1992 until the end of August 1992 and during war and armed conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina, against civilians in the villages of Tinja, Potpeć, Jasenica and other villages in the municipality of Srebrenik as well as Brezje village and other villages in the municipality Lopare while acting in their respective capacities i.e. Ibračević Ekrem as Acting Chief of Military Security of the municipal HQ of the Territorial Defense Srebrenik; Smajlović Faruk as the Commander of the Military Police of the Municipal HQ of Srebrenik TD and Čović Sejdalija as a member of the Military Police of the Municipal HQ of Srebrenik TD.
They are accused of crimes committed in prison facilities located on the premises of the local community building Rapatnica and the premises of a local football club "Rapatnica” located in the village of Luke - Srebrenik municipality, which were used for unlawful incarceration of at least 40 Serb civilians who were incarcerated from 1 to 37 days and were treated contrary to the provisions of the Geneva Conventions.
The incarcerated Serb civilians were kept in inhumane conditions, tortured and abused in various ways using tools, soldering iron and electricity causing severe physical injuries for which they were not offered any medical assistance. During the course of these abuses the detainees were tortured in humiliating ways, they were shot at and the shots would be fired in the vicinity of their bodies, threatened with death, they were subjected to multiple beatings, interrogations and abuses. The accused persons participated in these crimes along with other persons.
The accused persons are charged with the criminal offense of War Crimes against Civilians under Article 173 of the CC BiH.
The indictment was forwarded to the Court of BiH for confirmation.
This announcement does not prejudice the outcome of the criminal proceedings and does not violate the principle of the presumption of innocence. A person shall be considered innocent of a crime until guilt has been established by a final verdict (Article 3, paragraph 1 of the CPC BiH).
