Edin Džeko sentenced to 13 years in prison

The Council of Department I for War Crimes of the Appellate Division of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina dispatched on February 12 the second-instance verdict, which dismisses as unfounded the appeal of the accused Edin Džeko's defense attorney, and partially accepts the appeal of the BiH Prosecutor's Office, reports the Patria News Agency, as announced by the Court of BiH.

The first-instance verdict of the Court of BiH of June 6, 2014, is amended in the part of the decision on the unified sentence, so that the accused Edin Džeko, for the criminal offense of war crimes against prisoners of war, for which a prison sentence of ten years was determined, and the criminal offense of war crimes against the civilian population, for which a prison sentence of seven years was determined, is sentenced to a unified prison sentence of 13 years based on these legal provisions, while the first-instance verdict remains unchanged in the remaining part.

By the first-instance verdict, the accused Edin Džeko was found guilty of the criminal offense of war crimes against prisoners of war and the criminal offense of war crimes against the civilian population, for which he was sentenced to a unified prison sentence of twelve years.

The accused Edin Džeko was found guilty because, during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina and during the armed conflict between the Army of RBiH and HVO, as a member of the Special Unit for Special Purposes of the Army of RBiH "Zulfikar" on April 16, 1993, as part of a previously planned attack on the village of Trusina, Konjic municipality, he participated in the execution by shooting of six lined-up HVO soldiers and the killing of two civilians.

By the same verdict, the accused Edin Džeko was acquitted of the charge of the criminal offense of war crimes against the civilian population.

The BiH Prosecutor's Office filed an appeal due to a violation of the criminal code, an incorrect and incomplete determination of the factual situation, and a decision on the criminal law sanction, with the proposal that the Appellate Division Council fully accept the appeal as founded, and amend the contested verdict in the acquittal part, as well as in terms of the decision on the sentence.

The defense attorneys of the accused Edin Džeko also filed an appeal against the verdict due to a significant violation of the provisions of the criminal procedure, an incorrectly determined factual situation, and a violation of the criminal code, with the proposal that the Appellate Division Council accept the appeal, amend the verdict and acquit the accused, or repeal the verdict and order a trial with new evidence before the Appellate Council of the Court of BiH, reports Fena.

The Appellate Council held a public hearing on December 4, 2014, at which the appellants maintained their written appeals and reasons.

After examining the contested verdict within the scope of the appeal statements, the Appellate Council made a decision, as announced by the Court of BiH.