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INDICTMENT ISSUED FOR CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY COMMITTED IN 1992 IN PALE AREA
04.10.2019. 14:58Prosecutor of the Special Department for War Crimes of the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina has issued an Indictment against the following persons:
1. Jovan Kušić aka ‘Joja’, born in 1966 in Sarajevo, residing in Novi Sad, a citizen of the Republic of Serbia
2. Branislav Vuković aka ‘Bato’, born in 1955 in Vareš, residing in Vancouver, a citizen of Canada.
These accused persons are charged with participating personally and directly, as members of the Public Security Station in Pale, in unlawful detention, torture, mistreatment and beatings of Bosniak civilians detained in the gym of the Cultural Center in Pale, in May and June of 1992, in the course of a widespread and systematic attack on Bosniak civilians in the territory of Pale and its surroundings.
As a result of such torture, mistreatment and beatings, three detainees succumbed to the wounds inflicted by the said mistreatment, whereas a number of detainees suffered severe physical and psychological injuries, from which they were recovering for a longer period of time and they still have scars and suffer consequences even to this day.
These accused persons are charged with the criminal offense of Crimes against Humanity, referred to in Article 172 of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina will be corroborating the allegations in the Indictment by summonsing more than twenty prosecution witnesses, five of whom will be testifying with protection measures allocated; also, several dozen pieces of evidentiary material will be adduced.
The Indictment has been forwarded to the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina 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).