Damjanovic Brothers Jailed for 22 Years

Brothers Goran and Zoran Damjanovic have been sentenced to a total of 22 years and six months of imprisonment for beating up civilians in the village of Bojnik near Sarajevo during June 1992.

The court found them both guilty of crimes against civilians, and sentenced Goran to 12 years imprisonment and Zoran to ten years and six months.

According to the first instance verdict, Goran and Zoran Damjanovic are guilty of participating, together with other members of the Republika Srpska Army (VRS) and paramilitary groups, in the beating up of a group of 20 to 30 captured Bosniaks in the settlement of Bojnik, municipality Novi Grad, on 2 June 1992.

Both men, “armed and uniformed”, beat the prisoners with “guns, sticks, bottles, and with their legs and hands, and thus deliberately caused severe physical and mental pain to the prisoners, and all this in order to punish them for resisting the Serbian attack on Ahatovici”.

Judge Davorin Jukic announced that the trial chamber, on the basis of testimonies of witnesses Zaim Rizvanovic, Elvir Jasic and protected witnesses “C” and “D”, had concluded that brothers Damjanovic had a prominent role in the beating.

The prosecution examined a total of eight witnesses who knew the indictees and who were survivors of the beating in Bojnik in 1992, SIPA investigators who took part in their arrest and an expert on explosives.

During the evidence process, the defence listened to seven witnesses as well as to Zoran Damjanovic, who testified in his favour.

Judge Jukic has announced that the statements given by defence witnesses were “confusing, contradictory and inconsistent”.

Goran Damjanovic has also been found guilty of the second allegation in the indictment – illicit production and traffic of a large amount of weapons and explosives found by the State Agency for Investigations and Protection (SIPA) at the occasion of his arrest on 26 April 2006.

The sentence of one year and six months for illegal possession of weapons will be counted towards the 12-year sentence.

The Court of BiH confirmed the indictment against Goran and Zoran Damjanovic on 9 June 2006. On 22 June, both pleaded not guilty.

Zoran Damjanovic left custody on 10 June 2006, while Goran Damjanovic has been defending himself while on bail, as per a decision of the Court of BiH of 22 January 2007.

After the pronouncement of the verdict, both of them were released.

Defence attorneys of brothers Damjanovic did not attend the pronouncement of the verdict so it is still not known if they will file an appeal.