Court of BiH: 59 years in prison for war crimes in the Prijedor village of Zecovi

(Patria) - The Court of BiH today issued a first-instance verdict in which Ilija Zorić was sentenced to 20 years, Dušan Milunić to 12, Zoran Stojnić to eight, Zoran Milunić to 14, and Ljubiša Četić to five years in prison.

The five were convicted of crimes against humanity, including persecution of Bosniak civilians, murders, torture, rape, and detention in camps in the village of Zecovi near Prijedor during 1992.

In the same case, Radovan Četić, Željko Grbić, Boško Grujičić, Rade Grujičić, Uroš Grujičić, and Rajko Gnjatović were acquitted, reports Radio Slobodna Evropa.

All 11 were acquitted of a joint criminal enterprise. None of the accused appeared for the pronouncement of the verdict.

This is a first-instance verdict, with the possibility of appeal within 15 days.

In July 1992, members of the Army of Republika Srpska, police, and the Crisis Headquarters killed more than 150 Bosniaks in Zecovi. The search for 30 murdered individuals is still ongoing.

Dušan Milunić was a company commander within the Army of Republika Srpska brigade, Radomir Stojnić was the commander of the Rasavci Reserve Police Station, and Radovan Četić was the president of the SDS and the Crisis Headquarters for the village of Rasavci.

The other accused were members of the company.

In Prijedor and its surrounding areas, 3,176 people were killed. Approximately 30,000 people of non-Serb nationality also passed through the Prijedor camps of Trnopolje, Omarska, and Keraterm.