Bosnia Acquits Serb Ex-Soldier of War Crimes Against Civilians

The Bosnian state court in Sarajevo found Rade Macura not guilty on Wednesday of committing war crimes against civilians, saying that the prosecution had not proved he involved in the murders of ten Bosniak civilians, including three women, during a search in the village of Turjak in the Bosanska Gradiska area in June 1992.

Macura was commander of the First Company of the Second Battalion of the Bosnian Serb Army’s First Gradiska Brigade at the time.

The Bosniak civilians had come from Kozarac, fleeing the fighting there, and were attempting to reach the border with Croatia.

The indictment alleged that after asking the civilians to surrender, Bosnian Serb soldiers forced them to lie on the road and eat bullets, which made some of them sick, then ordered them to get up and killed them.

Explaining the verdict, presiding judge Zeljka Marenic said that the prosecution had not provided enough evidence to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant committed the crimes listed in the indictment.

“There is no doubt that the defendant commanded the company that participated in the search of Turjak and that he was physically present at that location, as alleged in the indictment. The chamber has not determined whether he directly participated in the operation or murder of civilians,” judge Marenic said.

The verdict was a first-instance ruling and can be appealed.