Pušina, Vikić and Others to Enter Pleas

Today at the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a plea hearing will be held for Dragan Vikić, Jusuf Pušina, Nermin Uzunović and Mladen Čovčić in connection with the criminal offense of war crimes against prisoners of war, Patria reports.

The court confirmed the indictment on January 13, 2017.

The indictment charges them with committing, during the war and armed conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina in April 1992, between members of the armed forces of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and units of the Territorial Defense and reserve component of the Yugoslav People's Army placed under the unified command of the Army of Republika Srpska stationed in the barracks in Lukavica, Nermin Uzunović and Mladen Čovčić, as members of a reserve unit of the Special Unit, together with other known members of the Special Unit and members of the reserve unit, the murder of captured members of the Army of Republika Srpska.

The statement says that "Dragan Vikić, as commander of the Police Detachment – Special Unit of the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and commander of the reserve units of the Special Unit of the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Jusuf Pušina, as assistant minister for uniformed police of the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as superiors, knew or should have known that their subordinates were preparing to commit the criminal offense of murder of prisoners of war and failed to prevent the commission of the criminal offense, or to take necessary and reasonable measures to ensure that the perpetrators of the criminal offense were punished."