Pekez et al: Verdict Due on May 5

The first-instance verdict against Mirko (son of Spiro) Pekez and Milorad Savic will be pronounced by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo on May 5, 2009.

The Prosecution charges the two men with having gathered the residents of Ljoljici and Cerkazovici villages, in Jajce Municipality, acting as members of an organized group of people, and taken them to Tisovac, where they shot them on September 10, 1992. On this occasion 23 civilians were killed and four were wounded. 

The same indictment originally charged Mirko (son of Mile) Pekez, who was sentenced, by a second-instance verdict, to 29 years’ imprisonment.

The three men were sentenced to a total of 71 years’ imprisonment by a first-instance verdict pronounced in April 2008. However, following an appellate procedure, the Appeals Chamber confirmed the part of the verdict pertaining to Mirko (son of Mile) Pekez only.

In their closing arguments the Defence teams called on the Appellate Chamber to pronounce a verdict of acquittal, while the Prosecution called for the indictees to be sentenced to long terms in prison due to the “severity of the crime and the fact that there were minors among the victims”.

“On the basis of evidence, presented at this trial, one can conclude that the indictees committed the crime charged upon them and that they voluntarily and deliberately participated in planning the murder of the non-Serb population of these villages,” Prosecutor Mirko Lecic said.

The Defence of first indictee Mirko (son of Spiro) Pekez considers that the Prosecution “failed to prove that the indictee committed any of the criminal actions”.

“The Defence does not deny that the incident happened. Once again, we should like to express our condolences to the families of the victims. However, those who are responsible for the crime should be tried, not some innocent people. And Mirko (son of Spiro) Pekez is obviously innocent,” Defence attorney Slavica Cvoro said.

Mirko (son of Spiro) Pekez addressed the Court, saying that he “had faith” that the Court would determine “which person named Mirko Pekez was guilty of the crime”, adding that he did not feel responsible for this crime. 

The Defence of Milorad Savic argued that the Prosecution failed to prove the allegations contained in the indictment, adding that, “insisting on the existence of a joint plan for killing Bosniaks, it forgot to invest efforts in proving the indictees’ individual actions”.

“There is not one single piece of evidence concerning Savic’s role in the alleged plan,” Defence attorney Nebojsa Pantic said.