Bozic et al: Three verdicts of release

The State Court pronounced a verdict, finding one of the four indictees guilty of crimes committed against civilians after the fall of Srebrenica. The Chamber explained that it did not trust the presented evidence or Prosecution witnesses.

Mladen Blagojevic was pronounced guilty and sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment. Zdravko Bozic, Zeljko Zaric and Zoran Zivanovic were acquitted of all charges. The Court decided that the three of them should be released from custody, in which they were held since 2006.

The State Prosecution charged the four former members of the Military Police Squad with the Bratunac Light Infantry Brigade of the Republika Srpska Army, VRS, with having participated in the prosecution, murder and guarding of buildings in which Bosniaks from Srebrenica were detained after July 11, 1995. The indictment charged them with a joint criminal enterprise and crimes against humanity.

Trial Chamber Chairman Stanisa Gluhajic said that the witnesses confirmed that Blagojevic was shooting from a military vehicle, parked in front of “Vuk Karadzic” school building in Bratunac, in which several hundreds of men were detained.

“The Chamber determined that Blagojevic was shooting towards a school window, by which a detainee was standing. The indictment did not indicate whether the person had been killed, so we characterised the mentioned crime as other inhumane acts, committed with an intention of causing bodily injuries,” Gluhajic explained.

As far as the other indictees are concerned the Court determined that “the State Prosecution has not proved that they had been present” at the locations at which the civilians were detained and killed. The Court did not “trust” Prosecution witnesses, which influenced the decision.

Judge Gluhajic explained that the Chamber considered that only one protected witness spoke about the indictees’ presence at the location, but “he cannot be trusted, as he changed his statement pertaining to the persons who were present at the crime scene”.

According to the verdict, it was not proved that Bozic, Blagojevic, Zaric and Zivanovic guarded the school building in Orahovac, in Zvornik, to which the detainees were transferred on July 14, 1995 “or approximately on that date”.

“It has not been proved that the indictees were present in Orahovac. The indictment is based on witness PW1’s statement. After having thoroughly reviewed the mentioned statement, the Chamber determined that it was contradictory in terms of key elements and not confirmed by other witnesses,” Gluhajic said.

In relation to guarding the buses which transported detainees from Bratunac to Zvornik, the Trial Chamber determined that “the indictees did not know what the final destination was”.

Explaining the verdict, Gluhajic said that a few counts, contained in the indictment, were “general and not concrete, which is necessary for existence of a crime”.

“Cruel treatment and beating, charged upon the indictees, constitute legal terms which have not been detailed in the indictment,” Gluhajic said.

The Trial Chamber did not admit the existence of a joint criminal enterprise.

“The State Prosecution has not proved the elements of such responsibility. The indictees cannot be held responsible for crimes committed by other people. Joint criminal enterprise is not an open formula for trying people for someone else’s acts,” the Trial Chamber considers.

According to the verdict, the four men have been exempted from paying the trial costs because they have been acquitted of charges, while, in the case of Blagojevic, it was concluded that having him pay the costs would affect “existence of his family”.

Both parties have the right to file an appeal with the Appellate Chamber of the State Court.

This is the second verdict, pronounced by the State Court, for crimes committed after the fall of Srebrenica. The first such verdict found seven persons guilty of genocide, sentencing them to between 38 and 43 years’ imprisonment, and acquitted four persons of all charges.