Bosanski Petrovac
КТО 3/12
2
Persons indicted |
Both defendants were acquitted of charges. |
Rank(s) of person(s) indicted |
lower military |
Indictment date |
|
Case stage |
adjudicated in the second instance |
Duration of proceedings since trial commencement |
4 years 7 months |
Witnesses examined |
13 |
Date and outcome of the first instance verdict |
Both defendants were sentenced to 8 years in prison. |
Date and outcome of decision on appeal |
The lower court’s judgment was abolished and new trial ordered. |
Date and outcome of verdict in new trial |
Conviction: once again, the War Crimes Department of the Higher Court in Belgrade imposed 8-year prison sentences on both defendants, former soldiers of the Republic of Srpska’s Army, for the killing of a Muslim civilian in Bosanski Petrovac in 1992. |
Additional info |
Appellate proceedings: date / decision
Pursuant to the decision rendered by the the Appellate Court's War Crimes Department, both defendants were released from charges. |
Criminal offence |
war crime against civilian population under art. 142 (1) re art. 22 (co-perpetration) of the FRY Criminal Act |
Background facts |
According to the indictment allegations, on 21 December 1992, AA and BB - at the time soldiers of the Republic of Srpska's Army - came across two civilians, namely AB and AV, on a local road in the area of Bosanski Petrovac, BH. The accused allegedly ordered AB to proceed forward but withheld AV, whom they took deeper into the forest and killed with multiple gunshots. |
Procedural remarks |
On 19 July 2016, the trial chamber announced its verdict. It found defendants AA and BB guilty and sentenced each to eight years in prison. The court based its decision on the testimony of a key witness. The Court accepted the prosecution’s allegations that AA's motive for the crime was the murder of his fellow soldier who had been killed by Bosniak forces a few days earlier. |