Local Justice Sabancevic: Revocation of Verdict Requested
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The Prosecution requested the Court to reject the Defences appeal as groundless and confirm the verdict pronounced by the Cantonal Court in Bihac.
In April 23 this year the Bihac Court pronounced Sabancevic guilty of crimes against prisoners of war in Velika Kladusa, because it determined that the indictee had participated in the capture of six members of the Fifth Corps with the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, ABiH in Johovica village on July 19, 1995.
The first instance Chamber determined that Sabancevic physically abused captives Sulejman Muslic, Senad Mujkic, Nihad Dizdaric and Zaim Jusic and then singled Dizdaric out and killed him from an automatic rifle.
Explaining his appeal before the Supreme Court, Defence attorney Alaga Bajramovic said that trial substantial violations of the criminal proceedings and Criminal Code happened, the factual status was wrongly and incompletely determined and a wrong decision on criminal sanction was rendered during the first instance trial.
I consider that a thorough and logical analysis of all presented pieces of evidence is missing, Bajramovic said.
He further said that the Bihac Court considered the way in which the indictee defended himself an aggravating circumstance.
The bottom line is the fact that Sabancevic claims that he did not deprive Dizdaric of his life, but that another person did it, Bajramovic said.
Sabancevic too pointed out that he did not commit that murder.
The Prosecution considers that the Criminal Code has not been violated. The Cantonal Court correctly determined the factual status, said Federal Prosecutor Jasna Pecanac.
The Supreme Court will render a decision concerning the appeal at a later stage.
In 1997 Sabancevic was sentenced before the Cantonal Court in Bihac to 14 years in prison, but the verdict was revoked and a retrial ordered.
A.S.
