INDICTMENT ISSUED AGAINST TWO PERSONS FOR WAR CRIME COMMITTED IN BIJELJINA IN 1992

A Prosecutor from the Special Department for War Crimes has issued an Indictment against the following persons:

The Prosecutor of the Special Department for War Crimes has filed an indictment against:

1.      Milenko Samardžija aka "Travka" (Blade of Grass) and "Žabac" (Frog), born in 1964 in Travnik

2.      Kosta Stanić, aka "Kole", born in 1970 in Sokolac

These accused persons are charged that, as members of the Republika Srpska Ministry of the Interior in Sokolac, together with several persons, they acted contrary to the provisions of the Geneva Conventions relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons and directly, knowingly and willingly participated in the killings of Bosniak civilians, including women, children and elderly people, who in no way participated in the hostilities or military operations.

The Indictment alleges that, in September 1992, the aforementioned accused persons participated in the forcible removal of civilians from their homes, as well as in their transport by a military truck and execution on the banks of the Drina River. There were twenty-two (22) victims in total, members of the Sarajlić, Sejmenović and Malagić families, who were shot and killed and their bodies were thrown into the Drina River.

The aforementioned accused persons are charged with personally and directly participating in the shooting and killing of these victims, the oldest of whom was a 72-year-old woman, whereas the youngest of them was a 6-year-old boy.

In this crime, five (5) victims were killed who were under eighteen (18) years of age.

The accused Samardžija is also charged with participating, ten (10) days before the said crime, in an illegal forcible removal of three (3) Bosniak civilians from their homes and from public places, to the police station, where he tortured and abused the victims, and then transported the victims to the banks of the Drina River in the place called Balatun, where he personally killed the three civilians by firing from close range.

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

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