Bosnian Serb Soldier Jailed for Strpci Train Abductions
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The mostly Bosniak victims were seized from a train travelling from Belgrade to Bar in Montenegro on February 27, 1993. They were then tortured, abused, robbed and killed in the Visegrad area.
Jovicic, who was a member of the Bosnian Serb Army’s Second Podrinjska Brigade during wartime, was not convicted of involvement in the passengers’ murders.
Presiding judge Vesna Jesenkovic told the court that Jovicic had expressed sincere remorse during the investigation phase, when he admitted his involvement in the abductions.
She also said that he was not a direct perpetrator, and had pledged to testify about what happened and reveal who committed the murders.
Jovicic was originally charged together with nine other Bosnian Serb ex-soldiers, Luka Dragicevic, Boban and Petko Indjic, Obrad and Novak Poluga, Dragan Sekaric, Oliver Krsmanovic, Radojica Ristic, Vuk Ratkovic and Miodrag Mitrasinovic, but his case was separated from the one against the other defendants.
Before the verdict was handed down, prosecutor Dzermin Pasic also said that Jovicic confessed to committing the crime, and provided the court with a video recording showing that the ex-soldier made his admission of his own free will.
“It is important to point out that, besides the fact it contains remorse and emotions, the recording has helped the investigation and the filing of the indictment to a large extent,” Pasic said.
“We have not found any aggravating circumstances. There were no elements of mistreatment, beating, murder or anything except safeguarding the area [at the station in Strpci],” he added.
As well as the nine ex-soldiers on trial in Bosnia, five more suspects have been indicted for the same crime in Serbia.
