MORTAL REMAINS OF AT LEAST SIX PERSONS EXHUMED AT HRTAR GRAD SITE IN VIŠEGRAD

Information about the location of the remote mass grave was obtained during the investigation in the case that the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina is conducting for war crimes committed in the area of Višegrad.

At the location of Hrtar Grad in Višegrad Municipality, an exhumation has been completed under the supervision of the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina and in accordance with an Order issued by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and mortal remains of at least six (6) persons have been found.

These mortal remains will be forwarded for further forensic processing and sampling for the purpose of identification via a DNA analysis, all in order to establish the identities of the missing persons to whom the found mortal remains belong.

In the course of its investigation, the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina has obtained information about the location of this mass grave, which is situated at an inaccessible and remote location, and it has subsequently initiated the procedure of preparation and realization of the Exhumation Order.

Officers from the Special Department for War Crimes have been present at the site during the entire process of exhumation and they have coordinated the work of all authorized official persons participating in the exhumation process. During the aforementioned exhumation, necessary construction machines and mechanization have been utilized.

Preliminary information suggest that the found mortal remains belong to the victims of Bosniak ethnicity from the territory of Višegrad; nevertheless, precise and detailed information about the identities of these persons will be available only after the DNA analysis has been completed and identities of the respective persons have been established.

Representatives of the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina participate in and manage the exhumation processes conducted in the entire Bosnia and Herzegovina. A large number of exhumations are conducted at different locations throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina on an annual basis.