Pravdic Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison at Retrial

Following his retrial, Pravdic was again found guilty of having killed prisoners of war Edin and Edib Fejzic on August 5, 1993. Pravdic killed the Fejzic brothers to avenge his brother’s death.

The trial chamber said the testimony provided by prosecution witnesses was authentic and convincing.

“The witnesses said the perpetrator was a young person, aged about 20, and that they heard other soldiers say, ‘Here comes his brother. He will kill all of them’ and ‘His brother Franjo killed them.’ They also said the accused said, ‘Where are those men who had killed my brother,’” trial chamber chair Nermin Tesnjak said.

The chamber said it considered the defense’s argument that the perpetrator had been misidentified unacceptable.

“The defense focused on the kinds of identification and action undertaken during the investigation, forgetting the fact that witnesses confirmed the defendant’s presence at the crime scene, so the chamber does not consider the testimony given by defense witnesses who tried to offer an alibi for the defendant trustworthy,” Tesnjak said.

Tesnjak said the following factors were considered mitigating circumstances: the fact that Pravdic was young when the crime was committed, his status as a family man and his lack of a previous criminal record.

The parties have the right to file an appeal against the verdict with the Supreme Court of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The retrial of Pravdic was held after the Supreme Court repealed a verdict handed down by the cantonal court of Zenica on December 2013, which sentenced Pravdic to 11 years in prison.