Faruk Prcic pleads not guilty

12. March 2009.15:26
A former member of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina pleads not guilty to allegations that he committed crimes in Tuzla in 1992. After Judge Carol Peralta had read all eight counts contained in the indictment, charging him with crimes against civilians committed in Tuzla, Faruk Prcic pleaded not guilty before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This post is also available in: Bosnian

The indictment, which was confirmed by the Court on February 12, 2009, charges Prcic, as former Commander of the Engineering Squad with the Second Corps of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with having participated in the unlawful detention, torture and inhumane treatment of Serb prisoners from June to October 1992.

The indictment states that detainees stayed in the premises of the Mining Institute in Tuzla, where they were held in inhumane conditions, with insufficient quantities of food and water, while being physically and mentally abused on a daily basis.

Besides the indictment, the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina filed a motion requesting referral of this case to a lower-instance court competent for the region covered by the indictment, “due to the fact that the case in not complex or voluminous”.

Edina Residovic, Defence attorney for Prcic, said the Defence had filed the same motion.

Judge Peralta said that this motion would be forwarded to the Trial Chamber, which would make a final decision.

This post is also available in: Bosnian