Prosecutor's Office of BiH filed an indictment against Sakib Mahmuljin

The Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina has filed an indictment against Sakib Mahmuljin, a retired general of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and former commander of the 3rd Corps of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, reports the Bosnian news agency Patria.

We remind you, Mahmuljin was arrested on December 8 in Sarajevo. On December 9, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, deciding on the proposal of the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina to order custody for the suspect Sakib Mahmuljin, issued a decision rejecting the proposal of the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina for custody as unfounded, and imposed the following prohibition measures on the suspect Sakib Mahmuljin:

- Prohibition of leaving the place of residence (with the obligation of authorized officials to check this prohibition measure randomly twice a week)

- Travel ban (with temporary seizure of travel documents and prohibition of issuing new travel documents, as well as prohibition of using an ID card to cross the state border of Bosnia and Herzegovina);

- Prohibition of meeting with certain persons – witnesses listed in the Prosecutor's Office's proposal and approaching them within a distance of 100 meters.

The imposed prohibition measures may last as long as there is a need for them, or until a different court decision, and the justification will be reviewed every two months. If the suspect violates the imposed prohibition measures, he may be ordered into custody, the Court of BiH announced, reports the news agency Patria.

Sakib Mahmuljin is suspected of having committed the criminal offense of war crimes against prisoners of war under Article 144, war crimes against the wounded and sick under Article 143, and war crimes against the civilian population under Article 142 of the Criminal Code of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, in conjunction with Article 30, paragraph 2 of the same law (failure to act).

Addressing the court at the hearing on the determination of custody measures, Mahmuljin said that this case was also conducted in The Hague against the late Rasim Delić and that he was also a suspect, but that The Hague never filed an indictment against him.

- I investigated this case. Just to determine if there really was my responsibility, but I did not find it. I do not want to insult the prosecutor, but the man does not understand the military structure and command. And that in the army there is no oral order; behind me were 36,000 people who did not commit a single crime - Mahmuljin said then.

The prosecutor of the Special Department for War Crimes of the Prosecutor's Office of BiH filed an indictment against:

- Mahmuljin Sakib, born on October 13, 1952, in Kozarac, Prijedor, a citizen of BiH.

The accused is charged that during the war and armed conflict in BiH, in his capacity as commander of the 3rd Corps of the Army of the Republic of BiH, within which the detachment "El Mujahidin" also operated, which included fighters of Afro-Asian origin, acted contrary to the provisions of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions.

The indictment states that Sakib Mahmuljin, as corps commander, during 1995, while a large-scale operation of the Army of the Republic of BiH was ongoing in the wider area of Zavidovići and Vozuća, within which members of the "El Mujahidin" detachment committed war crimes against prisoners of war and civilians of Serbian nationality in that area, did nothing to prevent the said crime, although he had information that members of this detachment were preparing to commit a crime and that they had committed a crime, and that after the crime was committed, he did nothing to punish the perpetrators.

The indictment states that members of the "El Mujahidin" detachment, including fighters from Afro-Asian countries, after capturing prisoners of war, civilians, and medical personnel of Serbian nationality, committed the murder of more than 50 prisoners, some of whom were killed by ritual beheading of prisoners, which were then shown to other prisoners.

The indictment also states that members of this detachment abused and tortured prisoners, cut off their ears and inflicted stab wounds on various parts of the body, tied them up and beat them with various objects, applied extremely cruel forms of torture, i.e., tying prisoners in cramped positions with nooses around their necks, which would tighten and choke the victims as they moved, leaving them in such positions for several hours.

As a result of abuse and beatings, many victims were left with permanent consequences and disabilities.

After the war, the remains of about 10 victims were found, identified, and buried, and the bodies of the remaining victims are still being searched for.

The accused Sakib Mahmuljin is charged with knowing about the murders and abuse of detainees, which lasted more than 15 days, in the period July/August and in another case during September 1995, and that he did nothing to prevent, stop, or punish the perpetrators of these crimes.

The accused is charged with having committed the criminal offense of war crimes against prisoners of war, war crimes against the wounded and sick, and war crimes against the civilian population.

Along with the indictment, it was proposed to summon more than 70 prosecution witnesses, 11 of whom will give testimony under protective measures, and more than 900 pieces of evidence were attached, with which the Prosecutor's Office will prove the guilt of the accused.

The indictment will be forwarded to the Court of BiH.