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The court found that Devic committed the murders within a widespread and systematic attack by Bosnian Serb military, police and paramilitary forces on the Bosniak and Croat civilian population in the Kljuc area.
Presiding judge Saban Maksumic said the deaths of Serb policemen, which preceded the Bosniaks’ murders and were cited by the defence as a catalyst for them, did contribute to tensions and was a kind of trigger, but the violence against Bosniaks that followed went beyond an isolated event.
On the basis of witnesses’ testimonies, the court found that Devic and three other soldiers came to Gornji Kamicak, where they took four men from a house and killed them. The victims’ mutilated bodies were found the following day.
When deciding on the sentence, the court said it took into account the brutality of the attack and the mutilation of the bodies.
It also took into account the fact that the defendant did not commit the crime independently, but did not express any disagreement with the killings either.
The verdict can be appealed.
