Bosnian Serb Fighter Convicted of Sanski Most Jailings

Prosic was found guilty on Wednesday of the illegal imprisonment of civilians from the settlements of Muhici, Mahala and Otoka in Sanski Most on May 27, 1992, but was acquitted of murder charges.

The trial established that Prosic, a former soldier with the Sixth Sana Brigade of the Bosnian Serb Army, searched houses and drove out civilians who were then locked up in the centre of Sanski Most.

However, the court did not accept that his actions were a part of an attack on the non-Serb population.

“He was aware that non-Serb civilians were being locked up, but he did not show that he shared the discriminatory intent,” said presiding judge Darko Samardzic.

Quoting witness statements, Samardzic also said that Prosic helped a Bosniak family in late May 1992.

Due to lack of evidence, the court acquitted Prosic of charges of murdering eight civilians and participation in the murders of another three.

“It is indisputable that the defendant was outside, but not that he was inside the house [where the killings took place] or that he took the life of civilians,” said Samardzic.

Witness Vezira Vojnikovic was the only one who survived the murders, and at the trial she identified Prosic as the culprit.

However, the presiding judge said that she had not been able to name the perpetrator in depositions that she gave back in 1993 and 1996, while the statement she gave at the trial differed from those given during the investigation.

Explaining why Prosic was acquitted of the other three murders, the court ruled that the witness testimonies did not prove this beyond reasonable doubt.

The verdict can be appealed.