Verdict in Pero Kovacevic Retrial Next Week
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The chamber of the Appeals Court of Brcko District said it would announce its verdict on Tuesday, February 9.
In its closing statement, the prosecution said it had proven that Kovacevic was responsible for robbing and killing four Serb women from the Srebrenik and Gradacac area. Kovacevic allegedly took the women into his custody in October 1994 and promised to transfer them to a part of the municipality of Brcko controlled by the Bosnian Serb Army.
According to the defense, despite the new evidence presented before the appeals court, the prosecution was unable to prove that the defendant committed the crime.
The defense called upon the court to hand down a verdict of release, as was the case during the first instance trial.
The appeals court ordered a retrial in the case after having repealed the first instance verdict handed down in 2008, which acquitted him.
Kovacevic failed to appear at hearings during the retrial, and an international warrant was issued against him as a result. He was arrested in Slovenia on October 7, 2015.