Indictment against Sejdic and others returned to the BiH Prosecutor's Office for revision

(Patria) - The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has returned the indictment against 13 former commanders and members of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Prosecutor's Office for revision, concerning crimes committed in the village of Jošanica near Foča in December 1992, as well as crimes in the areas of Višegrad and Čajniče.

From the State Court, it was confirmed for Detektor that a decision on the indictment has not yet been made, given that it has been returned to the BiH Prosecutor's Office for revision.

"The deadline for revising the indictment is 15 days from the date of receipt of the letter, and the 15-day deadline for deciding on a potentially revised indictment begins anew," they stated in the response from the Court of BiH, adding that the Prosecutor's Office's letter was received on August 18.

The Prosecutor's Office previously announced that the indictment charges Ferid Buljubašić, Ahmet and Izet Sejdić, Rašid Sobo, Ševko Glušac, Zakir Jamak, Bahrudin Muhić known as Bane, Adem Fehrić, Mustafa Poljo, Enver Kustura known as Pena, Muhamed Liska, Sakib Čakar, and Munir Nalo with war crimes against victims of Serbian ethnicity in Jošanica near Foča, committed in December 1992, when 56 civilians of Serbian ethnicity were killed, about ten people were wounded, and houses, property, agricultural and auxiliary buildings were burned and destroyed.

The Prosecutor's Office stated that the armed attack led and participated in by the accused was carried out on an undefended village inhabited by civilians, and among the victims were elderly people, women, and children.

The oldest victim was an 88-year-old man, and the youngest was a two-year-old girl.

"Some of the victims were tortured and killed in an extremely cruel manner," the statement said.

In addition to the crimes in Jošanica, the Prosecutor's Office charges Ahmet Sejdić, as a former brigade commander and member of the Territorial Defense staff, with crimes in the villages of Klisure, Bursići, and Hadrovići, in the Višegrad area, committed in August 1992.

The villages were outside the conflict zone and inhabited by a civilian population of Serbian ethnicity, and during the attack, eight people were killed, among whom the oldest victim was a 90-year-old woman.

In 2020, Sejdić was finally acquitted of charges for crimes in the Goražde and Rudo areas committed between July 1992 and February 1993.

Ferid Buljubašić, as a commander and superior officer, is additionally charged with war crimes committed in February 1993 against civilians of Serbian ethnicity in villages around Čajniče, where, during an attack in which soldiers of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina came via the territory of Montenegro to the area of the villages of Šapići, Trpinje, Trojan, and Ponikve, 11 civilians of Serbian ethnicity were killed by automatic weapon fire – among them were elderly men, women, and one child.

The Prosecutor's Office planned to prove the allegations of the indictment by calling more than 400 witnesses and submitting more than 1,200 pieces of evidence.