No Retrial for Mujcinovic

The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina dismissed the prosecution’s motion for retrial of Zurahid Mujcinovic, previously convicted to eight years of prison for war crime committed in Srebrenik. The prosecution has launched a new investigation into these crimes.

The request from the prosecution for retrial of the already convicted persons are very rare in legal practice, and it is even rarer that such a request be dismissed.

Veteran lawyer Asim Crnalic assumes that the prosecutor realised that he indicted a wrong man and that he tried to correct his mistake with this request.

“The first unusual thing is that the prosecutor filed a motion for retrial at all, and it is even odder that the court dismissed such a request, under condition that the prosecutor had appropriate evidence and met all the legal requirements. I don’t know what were the prosecutor’s motives, it is possible that the man realised through new evidence that he wrongfully indicted the man and wanted to correct his mistake, everyone has a conscience… It would be difficult for me to assume that there are some ulterior motives behind it,” said Crnalic.

The prosecution declined to give any information about this case. In the request that they filed they stated that they had gathered statements from new witnesses, which could influence the decision on Mucinovic’s guilt.

In its motion the prosecution especially emphasised the witness who was questioned in Belgrade after the trial and who, as they say, had crucial knowledge about actual perpetrators who had abused imprisoned Serb civilians in Rapatnica.

Mujcinovic’s lawyer, Rifat Konjic, said that earlier another request for retrial by the defence was already dismissed, after which the same motion was filed by the prosecution.

“The prosecutor realised it is not all right for an innocent man to sit in the jail… The prosecution now invested a special effort into gathering new evidence, they realised what had happened. They work hard on filing an indictment against people for which they have evidence regarding these criminal acts,” said Konjic.

The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina ruled that the statement from the new witness is not “suitable” to cause a release of convicted Mujcinovic, as envisaged by the law.

“According to the Chamber, the said statement from the witness cannot cast a doubt on all other evidence that the first instance verdict was based on and which was subject to thorough analysis both of the first instance and second instance chamber, especially since witness L.S. was not an eyewitness to the physical abuse of others, he was taken from the basement alone and did not know about others who were taken away,” says in the explanation of the decision.

The Trial Chamber also dismissed statements from two other persons which the prosecution interrogated in the course of the new investigation into crimes committed in Rapatnica, with an explanation that they have already been examined at the Mujcinovic trial.

The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina confirmed in May 2013 the verdict which found Zurahid Mujcinovic guilty, as member of the so-called Hunter’s Company, which later became 21st Mountain Brigade of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, of inhumanely treating two civilians illegally held captive in the settlement of Rapatnica.