Višegrad war criminal Šekarić sentenced to 14 years in prison

Today, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina imposed a prison sentence of 14 years on Dragan Šekarić, charged with crimes against humanity committed in Višegrad, reports the Patria news agency. The time he spent in custody since October 6, 2014, will be credited towards the sentence.

After nearly a year of trial, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina found Šekarić guilty of, as a member of the Army of Republika Srpska, from the beginning of May 1992 until the autumn of the same year, killing, torturing, raping, and participating in enforced disappearances in the Višegrad area.

It was stated that in 1992, in the settlement of Kosovo Polje (Višegrad municipality), he raped a woman, and pushed an elderly woman who asked him for help into a burning house, then killed her by shooting her with a pistol.

Šekarić was acquitted of charges that he beat prisoners at the Uzamnica camp in the Višegrad municipality, that he participated in the persecution and murder of civilians in Kokino Selo, Višegrad municipality, and that he, together with Milan Lukić, in the Dušća area, Višegrad municipality, robbed Džemail Zukić and took him and his son to an unknown location, after which all trace of them was lost.

The Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina attempted to prove Šekarić's guilt by hearing 23 witnesses, some of whom were close relatives of the victims.

Protected witness S-6 previously testified that her parents were killed in Kokino Selo when she was not yet two years old. According to information she obtained, the witness said that her mother was pregnant at the time of her death, on May 22, 1992.

Šekarić's trial began on March 24 last year, and the accused has been in custody since October 6.