PERSON SUSPECTED OF WAR CRIMES COMMITTED IN THE AREA OF GRADAČAC AND SREBRENIK DEPRIVED OF LIBERTY

 The suspect is under investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH and is accused of having, during the war and armed conflict in BiH, as a member of the 107th Viteška Motorized Brigade of the HVO and ARBiH structures, acted contrary to the provisions of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, in the area of Gradačac and Srebrenik.

He is accused of having, during 1994, contacted and addressed ethnic Serb persons living in the town of Gornja Špionica, Srebrenik, who feared for their lives and existence as ethnic Serbs in the area under the control of the ARBiH, among whom were 5 women and one man and three of those civilians were over 60 years old, and having falsely offered to take them with members of the ARBiH to the area of Pelagićevo under the control of the VRS for a monetary compensation of DM 1,000 each.

 

During the transport, the civilians were taken to an unknown location where they were robbed and killed, after which they disappeared without a trace. Out of the six persons mentioned, only the remains of one civilian were found in the bed of the river Tinja in the Brčko District of BiH, and the bodies of the other civilians have not been found yet.

 

The suspect is charged with the criminal offense of War Crime Against Civilians. SIPA members will bring the suspect, within the legal term, to the assigned prosecutor who will question him and then make a decision on further activities.