Karajic: Pronouncement of Verdict Postponed

The retrial of Karajic was completed on November 11 this year, when the Appellate Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina said that the verdict would be pronounced on November 22.

“One of the parties requested the Court to postpone the pronouncement of the verdict. The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina approved the request and scheduled the pronouncement of the verdict for November 28,” the State Court said.

Under a first instance verdict pronounced in April 2010, Karajic, former member of the Fifth Corps with the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, ABiH, was found guilty of committing murders, inhumane treatment, unlawful detention and beating of civilians and members of the National Defence of the Western Bosnia Autonomous Region, ND WBAR, and sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment.

Karajic was found guilty of seven, out of ten counts. Among them were the murder of Amir Karajic, known as Kolac, on August 4, 1994 and murder of another ND WBAR member, whom he took out of the Detention Unit in the Police Station building in Vrnograc village, Velika Kladusa municipality in December 1994 and shot.

Besides that, under the first instance verdict Karajic was sentenced for the “groundless arrests of civilians and ordered his subordinates to arrest civilians, who, as he assumed, supported the WBAR idea,” and taking them to the school building in Todorovska Slapnica in December 1994. Some of the civilians were killed in the school, while some were subjected to inhumane treatment and torture.

After the Prosecution and Defence had filed appeals, the Appellate Chamber revoked the first instance verdict and ordered a retrial, which began in May 2011.