Bosnian Serb Convicted of Srebrenica Boys Murder
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The court on Friday found Boskovic guilty of shooting the boy dead at the Petkovci dam on July 15, 1995, when Bosnian Serb forces executed around 1,000 Bosniaks from Srebrenica.
The defendant told the boy: You can go, you are free, and when the boy went to the woods, he shot him in the head, the verdict said.
Presiding judge Zoran Bozic said that the fact that Boskovic was not a soldier himself did not mean that he could not commit a war crime.
He said that Boskovic arrogantly exploited the powerlessness and vulnerability of the boy.
He also said that the fact that the boy has not been identified does not mean he did not exist.
Two prosecution witnesses confirmed that they saw the boy, according to the judge.
The verdict is based on the statements of protected witness SB-1 and Milorad Kucalovic from the investigation, which are truthful and convincing, Bozic said.
Kucalovic said in the investigation that a dark man shot the boy in the head when the boy turned away. SB-1 said that he heard one or two shots and saw the defendant from three to five metres away with a rifle, he added.
In the courtroom, Kucalovic retracted his statement from the investigation and said he was not at the Petkovci dam at the time. The judge however said that this was illogical.
In deciding the sentence, the defendants arrogance and his exploitation of the victims vulnerability were taken into account as aggravating circumstances.
As mitigating circumstances, the chamber looked at the fact that he had no previous convictions and that he was only 20 at the time of the act, the judge added.
The verdict can be appealed.
