Indictment confirmed against commander of the Army of RBiH brigade from Banovići, Derviš Mehinović

(Patria) - The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina confirmed the indictment against Derviš Mehinović on June 20, who is charged with the criminal offense of war crimes against the civilian population.

The accused is charged that during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina and during the armed conflict between members of the Army of Republika Srpska, on one side, and the Army of BiH, on the other, he acted contrary to the rules of international humanitarian law.

As announced by the Court of BiH, Mehinović, as a superior in the capacity of commander of the 119th Muslim Mountain Brigade Banovići, in the period from the beginning of May 1993 to the beginning of August 1993, repeatedly submitted requests to the Municipal Defense Staff of Banovići for the engagement of members of the Labor Obligation Unit from the area of the municipality of Banovići, including the injured party K.G., for carrying out works in the zone of responsibility of the III and IV battalions of the 119th Muslim Mountain Brigade Banovići.

The indictment states that the suspect Mehinović knew that these were prohibited actions because the digging of trenches and ditches was carried out on the front lines and that as such they endangered the lives of the members of the Labor Obligation Unit, given that there were very frequent firefights in that location, and that during such work, fatalities and injuries to members of the Labor Obligation Unit could occur.

It is further stated that during the mentioned works in the village of Slivići-Osječani, Krš area, on June 8, 1993, the injured party K.G. was wounded by unknown persons with firearms, resulting in the paralysis of his lower extremities, and that this practice, by the accused, towards members of the Labor Obligation Unit and their deployment for digging trenches continued even after the serious injury of the injured party K.G.