Bruno Stojić released, previously wrote: My image in the eyes of the Bosniak people is criminal and I have to live with that

(Patria) - Hague convict Bruno Stojić, former Minister of Defense of the so-called Herceg-Bosnia, is being released today.

Stojić was finally sentenced to 20 years in prison for war crimes committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and served his sentence in Austria according to the decision of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Courts (IRMCT) in The Hague. He had previously filed requests for early release which were not granted.

Berislav Pušić, Valentin Ćorić, and Milivoj Petković have also been released earlier.

Berislav Pušić was released by the Mechanism in 2018. Pušić was sentenced to ten years in prison, and by serving time in pre-trial detention, which was counted towards his sentence, he met the conditions for early release after serving two-thirds of his sentence.

Valentin Ćorić was released on early release in 2019 after serving two-thirds of his sentence. Ćorić was sentenced to 16 years in prison for war crimes.

Milivoj Petković, eight years after the first-instance verdict and four years after the final verdict in which he was sentenced to 20 years in prison, was the first Hague convict to admit to crimes and verdicts in a letter to the Mechanism.

We remind you that the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Courts (IRMCT) rejected the request for early release of the former political leader of the Croatian Republic of Herceg-Bosnia (HRHB), Jadranko Prlić, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for crimes committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The President of the Mechanism, Judge Graciela Gatti Santana, stated in her decision that the crimes for which Prlić was convicted are very serious, which does not support his early release.

In 2017, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia determined that there was an international armed conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina and a state of occupation, and also confirmed the existence of a Croatian Joint Criminal Enterprise with the aim of ethnic cleansing of parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

After the verdict was pronounced, war criminal Slobodan Praljak drank poison in the courtroom and died. Praljak's sentence of 20 years in prison was confirmed.

In a letter that Stojić sent to the President of the Mechanism, Graciela Gatti Santana, in 2022, he stated that he does not deny the crimes he committed and offers no justification.

“My public and sincere remorse for what I have done and what I was a part of relates to the killing of civilians and members of the Army of RBiH, rapes, detention, systematic and forced expulsion of Bosniaks/Muslims, including children, women, and the elderly, destruction of their property, systematic and forced expulsion. Furthermore, it relates to the siege of Mostar, including shelling, sniper fire, and scarcity of food and water, and obstruction of humanitarian aid delivery. I also want to express remorse for the crimes committed in detention centers and prisons in Ljubuški, Heliodrom, Gabela, Dretelj. My remorse relates to everything mentioned in the verdict of the Trial and Appeals Chambers and which is the result of the JCE and my significant role in it,” Stojić stated.

He states that he long denied the crimes and his responsibility, but that he realized the mistake he made by following such a policy and by being part of a joint criminal enterprise.

“In the eyes of the Bosniak people, my image will be criminal for the rest of my life and I have to live with that,” he stated in the letter.