ANOTHER FAILURE BY THE BiH PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE - HRASNIČANI ACQUITTED Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina ruled: Gadžo, Laličić, and Hebib did not commit crimes against Serb civilians

SARAJevo, (Patria) - The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina acquitted Senad Gadžo, Zaim Laličić, and Suljo Hebib of charges of crimes against civilians in Hrasnica near Sarajevo committed in 1992 and 1994.

The trial panel concluded that it was not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the three former members of the Fourth Brigade of the Army of BiH, in their capacity as guards, participated in the beatings and killings of Serb civilians held in the Hrasnica area.

A large number of the 21 counts in the indictment, as stated by the presiding judge Mediha Pašić, are based on the read testimonies of witness Mirko Vuković, while for some counts, no evidence was presented or only one witness was heard.

"The testimonies of this witness in essential and decisive parts were not confirmed by any other witness or material evidence, so they cannot be a reliable basis for establishing the criminal responsibility of the accused," Pašić said about Vuković's testimonies.

She explained that, in cases where the accusation is based solely on one witness, their testimony must be such that it leaves no room for doubt. She stated that Vuković's testimonies were contradictory among themselves, as well as in relation to other testimonies. She listed some other counts that were based on only one read testimony.

The panel did not find the indictment counts for which witnesses were heard to be proven due to the contradictions in their testimonies. Pašić noted that one of the witnesses stated that he based his testimony on the statements of other witnesses he read in a book.

She also addressed the shortcomings of the indictment in certain counts.

"The Prosecutor's Office did not specify the exact action attributed to the accused, nor the form of responsibility," said Pašić.

By the first-instance verdict, Gadžo was acquitted on 11 counts of the indictment for participating in the beating of prisoners at the "Aleksa Šantić" school, garages, and the basement of an unfinished building, most of whom succumbed to the beatings.

He, along with Laličić, was acquitted on five counts for the death of one and the infliction of psychological and physical pain on six detainees. Hebib was acquitted on five counts of the indictment for participating in the beating of four prisoners.

An appeal against the pronounced verdict is permitted.