WAR CRIMES SUSPECT DEPRIVED OF FREEDOM IN BALATUN NEAR BIJELJINA

After three months of operational work, the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH, together with partner institutions and agencies, located and arrested a suspect of the war crimes that took place in Balatun near Bijeljina in September 1992.

The suspect, Milenko Samardžija aka “Travka” /Blade of Grass/, born in 1964 in Travnik, was deprived of his freedom after entering the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the border crossing point Brod.

The above-mentioned suspect stayed abroad for a long period of time and was inaccessible to the BiH authorities.

The allegations against him are that he, as a member of the RS MoI Sokolac Special Squad and as the direct perpetrator of the executions, together with other persons, took part in the execution of 22 Bosniak civilians from Bijeljina, members of the Sarajlić, Sejmenović and Malagić families, including minors, children and the elderly.

The victims were shot on the banks of the Drina River in Balatun, after being illegally taken from their homes.

After interrogating the suspect, the prosecutor working on the case will decide on further activities regarding the motion to order custody.