FINALLY: Prosecution files indictment for crime in Biljani

(Patria) - The Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina has finally filed an indictment for crimes against humanity in the Ključ area.

An indictment has been filed against 6 individuals. The accused are:

1. Marić Braco, born in 1963 in Ključ, citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina
2. Vukić Dragan, aka “Rosin”, born in 1970 in Banja Luka, citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina
3. Samardžija Ranko, born in 1960 in Ključ, citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina
4. Jokić Savo, born in 1962 in Drvar, citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina
5. Adamović Mišo, born in 1971 in Ključ, citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina
6. Kaurin Milorad, aka “Karlo”, born in 1969 in Ključ, citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Serbia

The accused are charged as direct perpetrators of crimes committed on July 10, 1992, when during a military-police operation of the VRS in the villages of Gornji and Donji Biljani in the Ključ municipality, male civilians of Bosniak nationality were taken into illegal detention in the school building in Donji Biljani. After that, the accused, together or individually on several occasions, using weapons, forcibly took prisoners individually or in smaller groups to locations near the school where they personally participated in the killings of civilians, whose bodies were taken from the said location, and after the war were found and exhumed.

The accused are charged with depriving dozens of civilians of their lives and committing inhumane acts against illegally detained civilians, thereby persecuting the civilian population and committing the criminal offense of Crimes against Humanity under Article 172 of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Incidentally, to date, only one verdict has been specifically rendered in connection with this case. The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina convicted Marko Samardžija, commander of the Sanički Battalion, in 2006, and the Appellate Chamber imposed a seven-year prison sentence two years later. Despite the gravity of the crimes, no other member of the military and political structure responsible for the attack on Biljani has been finally convicted for specific crimes in this village.

Marko Adamović and Boško Lukić were also tried for Biljani, found guilty of crimes against humanity in Ključ, but acquitted for Biljani. Former commander of the 17th Light Infantry Brigade, Drago Samardžija, never faced justice – he died in Serbia in 2021 without proceedings being initiated.

At the beginning of 2025, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina confirmed the indictment against Jovo Kevac, accused of participating in crimes in Gornji and Donji Biljani. The trial is ongoing, and the Prosecutor's Office announces the hearing of more than 200 witnesses, indicating the depth and weight of the evidence.

The massacre in Biljani is not just a number – behind every name is a human story. Six children were also killed. Among them, four-month-old Amila Džaferagić and her four-year-old brother Almir, whose bodies were found in the arms of their mother Besima in a mass grave.