GRAVE WITH MORTAL REMAINS OF SEVERAL PERSONS FOUND ON MOUNT IGMAN

As part of the case dealt with by the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a joint search for the location of a mass grave was initiated, involving the Department for Civil Protection of FBiH, the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) and investigators of the Missing Persons Institute of Bosnia and Herzegovina (INO BiH), and human remains were found, which are presumed to belong to the victims from Donji Hadžići.

The location of the mass grave was detected following several lengthy checks and after other procedural and demanding expert and technical actions have been undertaken on the basis of orders and under the supervision of the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, pursuant to orders issued by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

An Investigator of the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina is present in the field, at the location of Lokvice near Golo Brdo on Mount Igman, in the municipality of Ilidža, where he coordinates the activities of authorized officials participating in the process of exhumation of the found mortal remains.

Members of the Department for Civil Protection of FBiH, Ministry of the Interior of Sarajevo Canton, Missing Persons Institute of Bosnia and Herzegovina (INO BiH) and ICMP in BiH are present at the site together with a forensic pathologist, whereas the arrival of the SIPA representatives is expected. During the exhumation process, the BiH Mine Action Center is providing assistance, as the site is located in the vicinity of a mined area.

The grave with the mortal remains was found during an intensive search and in the course of examination of a large number of witnesses, after which the terrain was canvassed using the specialized technical equipment (metal detectors, etc.) in order to locate the mortal remains which were known to be present at the site of 2 km².

During the search of the terrain, a suspicious location was detected, located in an inaccessible terrain, and human remains were found in the ground, at the depth of approximately one meter.

After the completion of the exhumation, the mortal remains will be handed over for further forensic processing, analysis and identification via DNA sampling.

According to the initial information, it is presumed that these are Bosniak victims from the area of Donji Hadžići, who disappeared in the summer of 1992, and who have been sought after for a longer period of time.

The process of exhumation will continue in the days to come.