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Prosecutor Dzevad Muratbegovic said that the first instance Chamber made a mistake, when deciding on sentence against Kornjaca, who was sentenced, in May last year, to five years in prison for having committed crimes against Bosniaks in Cajnice in 1992.
“The first instance Chamber overrated the mitigating circumstances, when deciding on the sentence,” the Prosecutor said.
As he said, the mitigating circumstances referred to Kornjaca’s health condition, the fact that he had not been sentenced before and the fact that he respected the Court of BiH during his trial.
Kornjaca, a former Commander of the “Plavi Orlovi” (“Blue Eagles”) Unit, was found guilty of having detained and beaten Bosniak civilians, who were held in a container at Mostina in 1992. He was acquitted of the charges for murder of 27 people in a hunters’ house on May 19, 1992.
Muratbegovic said that the first instance Chamber made a mistake, when it determined that Kornjaca did not have effective control over Veljo Tadic, one of the members of “Plavi Orlovi” Unit, who committed the murders in the hunters’ house.
“As a commander, he had effective control over ‘Plavi Orlovi’ Unit members, one of whom was Veljo Tadic,” the Prosecutor said, adding that this allegation could be derived from evidence presented at the trial.
According to the Prosecutor, Kornjaca was supposed to propose Tadic’s punishment after having found out that he had committed the murders.
He said that the first instance Chamber did not correctly determine the facts, when it decided to acquit Kornjaca of the charges for having failed to punish Tadic and the charges that he contributed to those murders by his actions.
Defence attorney Milana Borovcanin Bulic said that Kornjaca was dissatisfied with the convicting part of the verdict. She requested the Appellate Chamber to revise the first instance verdict and acquit Kornaca of all charges.
“The Court of BiH sentenced Milun Kornjaca unfairly and unlawfully,” she said.
The Appellate Chamber will render a decision concerning the appeals at a later stage.
