FINAL VERDICT Samir Bejtić acquitted of war crimes charges at Kazani

(Patria) - The Appellate Panel of the Supreme Court of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina confirmed the verdict of the Cantonal Court in Sarajevo, by which Samir Bejtić was acquitted of war crimes charges committed at Kazani, it was confirmed for Detektor.

By the verdict of the Cantonal Court in Sarajevo from November 3, 2021, Bejtić was acquitted of charges of committing war crimes against the civilian population.

The Prosecutor's Office of Sarajevo Canton filed an appeal against this verdict due to "a significant violation of the provisions of the criminal procedure and an incorrect and incomplete determination of the factual situation", with the proposal to annul the verdict and return the case to the first-instance court for a retrial.

The Supreme Court of FBiH rejected the appeal as unfounded and confirmed the verdict of the Cantonal Court in Sarajevo.

The indictment states that Bejtić, as a member of the Tenth Mountain Brigade of the Army of BiH, participated in the beating of Ergin Nikolić and Duško Jovanović in 1993, after which he, along with a group of soldiers and Mušan Topalović Caco, took them to the Boguševac location, where they continued to abuse them in a dugout and then killed them.

He was also accused of, among other things, killing Zoran Vučurević at Kazani on December 25, 1992.

Bejtić's defense attorney, Rusmir Karkin, reminds that the trial in this case lasted more than 20 years and that this is the fourth acquittal.

"The proceedings were conducted under the old criminal procedure law, with the participation of lay judges, which is unusual for these circumstances. According to that law, there was a possibility for the case to be returned from the appellate court to the first-instance court this many times. This is the final acquittal," Karkin told Detektor. He believes that Bejtić, after everything he has endured, has the right to seek compensation.

Detektor has previously written about the multi-year court proceedings against Bejtić, and the case has been returned to the Cantonal Court in Sarajevo for retrial several times from the Supreme Court of the Federation of BiH.

In 2006, Bejtić was sentenced to 14 and a half years in prison for crimes committed at Kazani, but that verdict was overturned. Subsequently, he was acquitted twice, but those decisions were also overturned. The Supreme Court overturned the verdicts of the Cantonal Court each time and pointed out significant violations of the provisions of the criminal procedure.

There is no possibility of appeal against this verdict.