162 Years of Prison Confirmed for War Crimes in Bosanski Novi

8Patria) - The Appellate Division of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has upheld the verdict sentencing ten defendants for crimes committed in Bosanski Novi to a total of 162 years in prison.

According to the second-instance verdict, which Detektor had access to, the appeals of the BiH Prosecutor's Office and the defense attorneys of the defendants Ranko Balaban, Rajko Karlica, Milenko Brčin, Mirko Odžić, Ratko Goronja, Nikola Reljić, Dragan and Ranko Baltić, and Miroslav Kapetanović were dismissed as unfounded. The appeal of Ranko Balaban's wife was also dismissed.

The verdict states that the defense of Milenko Babić, nor the defendant himself, filed an appeal against the first-instance verdict, and it is noted that the verdict regarding him remains unchanged.

During the presentation of appeals on this verdict, Damir Alagić, Babić's defense attorney, stated in the courtroom that he was certain he had submitted a written appeal, but did not know why it was not delivered to the Panel. After a five-minute break, the Panel announced that they had found no evidence of the appeal being submitted, and Alagić's request to elaborate on it was denied, with a deadline set for Friday to submit evidence of the appeal's submission.

By the first-instance verdict from November 2023, Ranko Balaban, Ratko Goronja, Nikola Reljić, Mirko Odžić, Ranko and Dragan Baltić were each sentenced to 18 years, Rajko Karlica, Milenko Brčin, and Milenko Babić to 15 years each, while Miroslav Kapetanović was sentenced to nine years in prison for crimes committed in the area of Bosanski Novi, reports Detektor.

The second-instance verdict states that an analysis of witness testimonies shows that the heard witnesses gave statements either about the entire event, and were also linked to the statements of witnesses who spoke about one segment of the event. As stated, the defense attorneys mostly challenged the testimonies of witnesses Dragan Balaban, and Stojan and Zoran Kenjalo, claiming that these were witnesses who had concluded plea agreements.

- It appears that these are statements that are mutually consistent, i.e., that complement each other regarding decisive facts, and point to a clear conclusion about the role of the defendants. At the same time, the Panel notes that the Defenses mostly selectively evaluated the testimonies of the heard witnesses, insisting on certain parts that are not of decisive importance, unlike the First-Instance Panel which considered the witness statements as a whole, finding that they objectively presented their knowledge regarding the incriminated event - adds the verdict of the Appellate Panel.

Regarding the reliability of witnesses Dragan Balaban, and Stojan and Zoran Kenjalo, the Appellate Panel finds that the first-instance court provided a detailed assessment of the credibility of their statements, concluding that they are a reliable basis for establishing decisive facts.

Stojan Kenjalo and Balaban were previously sentenced to seven years each, and Zoran Kenjalo to five years in prison.

With the verdict from November last year, the court established that all defendants on June 22, 1992, after the funeral of a killed Serbian soldier, as an armed group consisting of more than 20 soldiers, went to the villages of Alići and Ekići. There, as concluded, they forced the civilian Bosniak population to come out of their houses, threatening to kill them if they did not, shooting and shouting at them, led them towards the Orthodox cemetery, where they beat the men with rifle butts, fists, and feet, while women and children watched.

- Then they separate about 90 men and take them to the Muslim cemetery, where they force them to dig a grave and stand around it, after which armed soldiers received an order to form a firing squad and start shooting - it was stated during the pronouncement of the first-instance verdict.

On that occasion, 24 men were killed, and their bodies were found at various locations, given that the grave was dug up and the bodies were transferred to the river. The remains of all the killed have still not been found.

This verdict is final and there is no possibility of appeal against it.