TWO WAR CRIMES SUSPECTS DEPRIVED OF LIBERTY WHILE ATTEMPTING TO LEAVE BIH

Pursuant to an order issued by a Prosecutor of the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, two suspects were taken over from the Border Police of Bosnia and Herzegovina by SIPA officers in the vicinity of Zvornik and Karakaj Border Crossing Points, namely: 

1. Vinko Radović, born in 1959 in Zvornik, a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina
2. Petko Panić, born in 1952 in Zvornik, a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina

The aforementioned suspects will be transported to the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina within the legally prescribed time limit, where they will be handed over to the Prosecutor assigned to the respective case.

These suspects are charged with the following: in the spring of 1992, the suspect Radović, as a representative of former civil and military authorities in Zvornik, and the suspect Panić, as the deputy commander of the Zvornik police, took part in the systematic persecution of thousands of Bosniak civilians from Đulići, Klisa and the surrounding places, as well as in the unlawful separation, mistreatment and imprisonment of about 700 men and boys between the ages of 16 and 70, during which time several persons were killed, whereas the remaining civilians were taken to the Technical School Center in Karakaj, where they were unlawfully imprisoned.

During the persecution of the population, civilians were robbed, their money and valuables were stolen and their tractors, vehicles and other goods were taken away from them, after which the remaining population was sent to the territory controlled by the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Kalesija.

The aforementioned suspects are charged with the criminal offense of Crimes against Humanity, referred to in Article 172 of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

After the suspects have been questioned, the Prosecutor in charge of this case will put forward a custody motion with the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, due to the risk of the suspects’ flight and the danger that, if they remain at large, they could hinder the investigation, conceal evidence and influence witnesses or accomplices.