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Police arrested five former members of the Bosnian Serb Army’s Rogatica Brigade on suspicion that they took part in the killings, rape and illegal detention of civilians in 1992.
Police officers from the Bosnian State Investigation and Protection Agency arrested Bozidar Perisic, Vinko Zoranovic, Dragan Lubarda, Zoran Ilic and Milisav Ikonic on Tuesday evening on suspicion that they took part in crimes against humanity and against civilians during June and July 1992 in the village of Gracanica in the Rogatica municipality in the east of the country.
“According to the evidence gathered, the suspects committed persecution, the murder of at least 15 people, rape and sexual abuse, illegal detention, torture, abuse and other crimes,” the Bosnian prosecution said in a statement.
According to the prosecution, the case has an element of wartime sexual abuse, which is one of its priorities.
The former fighters union of the Rogatica Brigade condemned the arrests.
“We do not want to judge the work of the Bosnian prosecution and court, but we notice that the number of our former comrades who are being tried for war crimes is unusually high,” the union said in a statement.
It also alleged that war crimes against Serbs are not being prosecuted.
In November last year, eight other former members of the Bosnian Serb Army’s Rogatica Brigade were also indicted for alleged war crimes in the same area.
The prosecution alleges that Radomir Markovic, Mile Kusic, Dragan Bozovic, Sasa Perkovic, Radomir Gluhovic, Pero Radovic, Ilija Vukasinovic and Milos Vukasinovic murdered of Bosniak civilians in the period from April to the end of September 1992.
