Vogošća Crimes: Branko Vlačo, the Bloodthirsty, Sentenced to 13 Years in Prison

The Appellate Panel of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina reduced the sentence of war criminal Branko Vlačo in May 2015, sentencing him to 13 years in prison for crimes committed in the Vogošća area near Sarajevo, writes the Patria News Agency.

In the first-instance verdict, Vlačo was sentenced to 15 years. In 1992, he participated in the Army of Republika Srpska's attack on the non-Serb population in the Vogošća, Ilijaš, and Centar areas and participated in the persecution of Bosniak and Croat populations. 

He was also found guilty of establishing the "Bunker" camp, where detained civilians lived in inhumane conditions, sleeping on concrete and relieving themselves in a barrel placed inside the camp. 

Detainees were tortured and forced into labor, and taken as human shields, from which many did not return. The Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina sought a life sentence, while the defense sought acquittal. Vlačo, speaking to the judges at the time, said he regretted every victim and sympathized with the families who lost their members. 

By the order of Jovan Joja Tintor, president of the Crisis Staff of the "Serb Municipality of Vogošća", no. E 12/92, dated May 2, 1992, which placed the pension "Kon Tiki" (better known as the cafe "Kod Sonje") in Vogošća at the disposal of the Serb police "for the interrogation of apprehended and detained persons", the beginning of the agony of Vogošća Bosniaks was marked.

This decision, according to Tintor's order, was immediately implemented by Branko Vlačo, who was appointed camp commander. The most significant crimes in Vogošća occurred in the camps "Kod Sonje" and "Bunker" in Vogošća, "Nakina garaža" in Krivoglavci, "Planjina kuća" in Svrake, the JNA barracks in Semizovac, as well as in human shields during Chetnik offensives on Žuč hill. All these crimes occurred under the direct command of the arrested Branko Vlačo.

In the Vogošća camps, many women were raped, and some were brutally murdered afterward. Some were held and raped in village stables in the village of Jezera on Žuč hill. Branko Vlačo personally led the crime against the Vogošća settlement of Krše on May 25, 1992, when six Bosniaks were brutally killed.

Montenegrin Police Arrested Him in August 2012

On August 29, 2012, Montenegrin police arrested Serbian citizen Branko Vlačo (58) from Belgrade at the Dobrakovo border crossing, for whom an Interpol Sarajevo international wanted notice had been issued.

As announced at the time by the Directorate of Police of Montenegro, Interpol Sarajevo had issued an international wanted notice for Vlačo to conduct court proceedings for the criminal offense of crimes against humanity, which he committed between May and November 1992 in the Sarajevo suburb of Vogošća. Vlačo was taken to an investigating judge of the High Court in Bijelo Polje to determine extradition detention for extradition to Bosnia and Herzegovina, according to the statement from the Montenegrin police.