IGK on the court verdict in the 'Štrpci' case: Justice only partially served

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - After a full seven years of trial, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina delivered a first-instance verdict sentencing seven former members of the Army of Republika Srpska to a total of 91 years in prison for their participation in the abduction of 20 civilians from a train in Štrpci on 27 February 1993, who were killed in the Višegrad area.

Unfortunately, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina acquitted Luka Dragičević of the charge that, as commander of the Second Podrinje Brigade from Višegrad, he ordered the removal of the civilians.

The Institute for Research of Genocide Canada (IGK) demands that the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina engage even more in arguing the crime, so that the Appellate Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina also finds Dragičević guilty.

The crime in Štrpci is one of the proofs of the aggression of the Republic of Serbia against the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We also remind that the murders and liquidations that happened to twenty passengers from the train, solely because they did not belong to the Serbian people, satisfy the elements of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

The victims of the crime in Štrpci remain invisible in the memorialization practices at the state level of the Republic of Serbia. Serbia focuses exclusively on Serbian victims and glorifies the role of the army, as well as convicted and unpunished war criminals. This is a major obstacle to a better future for all countries in the region.