Seven years in prison for Kornjača for crimes in Čajniče

The Appellate Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina sentenced Milun Kornjača to seven years in prison for crimes committed in Čajniče in 1992, BIRN reported, as carried by the Patria news agency.

The Chamber imposed a single sentence on Kornjača after a retrial on two counts of the indictment.

It found him guilty of ordering, in late May 1992, the removal of civilians from the village of Brdo and their detention at Mostina, and that the following day unknown persons killed 12 civilians in a nearby meadow.

For this count, Kornjača was sentenced to five years in prison.

- The accused ordered the removal and detention of civilians, but his responsibility for the following day could not be established beyond reasonable doubt - said Mirza Jusufović, presiding judge of the Appellate Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Kornjača was acquitted of charges that he failed to punish Veljo Tadić, who on 19 May 1992 killed civilians detained at the “Lovački dom” (Hunting Lodge) in Mostina, because it was not proven beyond reasonable doubt that Tadić was a member of the “Plavi orlovi” (Blue Eagles) unit, whose commander was Kornjača.

- There is no doubt that the murder of the Bosniak civilian population occurred at the ‘Lovački dom’. There is no doubt that it was committed by Veljo Tadić (…) The question is whether he was a member of the unit led by Milun Kornjača - said Jusufović.

In May 2014, Kornjača was found guilty by a first-instance verdict of imprisoning and beating Bosniak civilians who were detained in a metal container at Mostina. For this act, he was sentenced to five years in prison, and this part of the verdict was upheld by the Appellate Chamber.

Following appeals, the part of the verdict acquitting Kornjača of the murders at the “Lovački dom” and the removal and detention of civilians from the village of Brdo was overturned, and after a retrial, he was given a single sentence of seven years.

- When deciding on the sentence, the Chamber considered previously established mitigating circumstances... the accused's serious health condition. An expert determined that his capacity for judgment at the time of the crime was reduced, but not significantly - said Jusufović.

He stated that this is a final verdict.

Kornjača, who was defending himself from freedom, did not appear for the sentencing, and the previously imposed restraining measures were extended.

His defense attorney Rade Golić said that he was informed today that Kornjača is “still in the hospital”, Patria reports.