INDICTMENT ISSUED AGAINST 4 PERSONS FOR WAR CRIMES

Prosecutor of the Special Department for War Crimes within the Prosecutor's Office of BiH issued an indictment against four persons charging them with war crimes committed against ethnic Serb victims in the area of Banovići.

The indictment was issued against the following persons:

-         Esed Kočić, Miralem Čolić, Fikret Mrkonjić and Mirza Dedić, BiH citizens.

The accused persons are charged with having, during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the conflict between the Army of the Republika Srpska and Territorial Defense of RBH in the municipality of Banovići, as members of the military police and police structures of the Banovići Municipality TD command, Banovići Police Station of the PSS Banovići, along with other members of Civil and Military Police and other military and civilians, acted in violation of the provisions of Article 3, Paragraph 1, Subparagraphs a) and c) of the IV Geneva Convention.

The accused are alleged to have, from the beginning of May 1992 until the end of July 1992 in prison facility  "Railway Transport" building in Banovići in which the Serbs were incarcerated, participated in the murder, mutilation, cruel treatment, torture, inhuman treatment, causing injury to body and health, and robbery of personal belongings.

They are charged to have beaten the prisoners  - Serb civilians, with various objects and instruments, to have tortured the victims in extremely humiliating ways, to have threatened them with death while pushing firearm barrels in their mouth, and to have kept them incarcerated for several days after the beatings without treating the seriously injured with multiple fractures.

One prisoner died as a result of the beatings.

The accused are charged with the criminal offense of War Crimes against Civilians under Article 173, in conjunction with Articles 180 and 29 of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The indictment, along with supporting evidence, was forwarded to the Court of BiH for confirmation.