INDICTMENT ISSUED FOR WAR CRIMES IN GORNJI VAKUF

A Prosecutor of the Special Department for War Crimes has issued an Indictment against Perica Kustura (1970), charged with the criminal offense of War Crimes against Prisoners of War, as referred to in Article 175 of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Prosecutor of the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina has issued an Indictment against Perica Kustura aka Lipi, born on 01 May 1970 in Hrasnica, in the Municipality of Gornji Vakuf/Uskoplje, resident of Zagreb, citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Croatia.

The accused is charged with acting, as a member of HVO, in violation of the provisions of Geneva Conventions relative to the protection of prisoners of war, in the territory of Gornji Vakuf/Uskoplje, during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the armed conflict between the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and HVO.

He is charged with the following: on 18 January 1993, after several Bosniak members of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina were captured in the attack of the Ante Starčević HVO Unit on Hrasnica, while those prisoners were being taken through the aforementioned place, he saw the column with prisoners, approached it and opened a burst of fire from his firearms, thus killing the prisoner G.S. and wounding one person.

The Indictment alleges that, after the aforementioned act, the accused approached the wounded prisoner and wanted to shoot at him and kill him as well, but he was prevented from doing so by other HVO members.

The accused is charged with committing the killing of a war prisoner G.S. and wounding another war prisoner, whereby he committed the criminal offense of War Crimes against Prisoners of War, as referred to in Article 175 of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Indictment has been forwarded to the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina for confirmation.