Dragan Crnogorac Sentenced to 13 Years in Prison
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Crnogorac, former member of the Training Centre on Mount Jahorina with the Special Brigade of Republika Srpska police, was found guilty of participating in the murder of ten Bosniak men in Sandici, Bratunac municipality.
“In the evening hours on July 13, while he and other members of the Third Squad with the First Company were capturing men who were trying to flee, in Sandici village, as per an order given by their commander, they took six wounded men, including two men on a stretcher, and four other men out of a house, laid them on the ground on the side of the road and, acting in collaboration with seven other members, killed all ten of the men,” the verdict says.
The Trial Chamber determined that Crnogorac was aware of a widespread systematic attack on the Srebrenica area, within which 40,000 people were forcibly resettled and more than 8,000 men and boys killed.
The agreement proposed that Crnogorac be sentenced to between ten and 15 years in prison. According to the Chamber’s assessment, the pronounced sentence is adequate, bearing in mind the fact that the indictee “did not find himself at the attack location voluntarily”, but he was brought from Serbia, as well as the fact that he committed the murders as per an order.
“The indictee has expressed regrets. He was relatively young when the crimes were committed. The Chamber certainly took the gravity of the crime into consideration. Also, the Chamber appreciates the fact that the indictee undertook to testify about the crimes committed in the Srebrenica area and, by doing that, contributes to more efficient prosecution of the gravest crimes,” Trial Chamber Chairwoman Minka Kreho said.
Prior to the pronouncement of the verdict, Crnogorac expressed regrets and apologised to families of the victims.
“I sincerely regret having done that, irrespective of the fact that I was not able to prevent any of those events. I feel responsible. I wish I had not had to do that,” Crnogorac said.
As per the Chamber’s decision, the custody for Crnogorac has been extended. The parties have the right to appeal the verdict, but not the part pertaining to the sentence.
