War Crime or Beating under a Statute of Limitations

The parties presented their appeals against a first instance verdict pronounced by the Tuzla Cantonal Court in September last year. Under the verdict, Hamed Salihovic, Nedzad Oric and Azem Ahmic were found guilty of war crimes against civilians on July 17, 1995.  
 
Oric was sentenced to three and both Salihovic and Ahmic to one year in prison for having beaten Savo Tesic up. The verdict said that they took Tesic, who was unconscious, from his courtyard in Jasenica to Ciljuge, where an unknown person cut his throat, making him bleed to death.
 
“We consider that the first instance court determined the facts correctly, but it did not pronounce an appropriate sentence,” Federal Prosecutor Hajrija Hadziomerovic-Muftic said, proposing to the Supreme Court of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, FBiH, to increase the sentences.
 
The Defence of indictee Salihovic did not file an appeal. The appeals filed by the Defence of Oric and Ahmic said that the first instance court did not determine the facts correctly and that a series of violations of laws and proceedings happened.
 
“The Court arbitrarily determined that the crime happened during the war. It had to explain why this crime was classified as war crime. In order to do that, the crime had to be linked to the conflict. What we have here is not a conflict, but moving into somebody else’s apartment,” said Defence attorney Vasvija Vidovic.
 
She pointed out that the crime could have been classified as the causing of severe injuries, participation in a fight or something like that, but not as war crime. She said that the charges should be rejected, considering the fact that the statute of limitations was applicable for other crimes.
 
Under the first instance verdict, the indictees attacked Tesic, because he refused to allow refugees from Srebrenica to move into his house.
 
Vidovic and Ahmic’s Defence attorney Saban Mujcinovic said that the first instance Chamber failed to explain how it determined that the injured party was a Serb civilian, that the indictees were members of ABiH and that they did not commit the crime with premeditation.
 
Salihovic’s Defence attorney Amer Omercehajic said that he was in an awkward situation, because his client insisted on him not filing an appeal, but he expressed hope that he would benefit from the appeals filed by his colleagues.
 
“I consider that this was not a war crime. Whatever you decide, I shall accept your decision,” Salihovic said.
 
The Appellate Chamber will render its decision at a later stage.