Ex-Bosnian Fighter Sentenced for Jablanica Murder

Scuk, a former member of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was convicted of the murder of Iva Pavlovic on July 28, 1993 in the village of Krkaca, during the attack on Doljani in the Jablanica municipality.

“Scuk came into the yard with another two soldiers, where civilians Ruza Tutis and her sister Iva Pavlovic were,” Hamo Kebo, the presiding judge, said.

“Scuk asked whether they had a rifle, which Iva said they did not. Scuk entered the house and after he found the rifle inside, he approached Iva and told her: ‘Now you’re toast.’ After that he shot her in the neck and she died from the wound,” he added.

In the explanation of the verdict, Judge Kebo said the Trial Chamber believed the witnesses of the Cantonal Prosecution in Mostar who saw Scuk during the attack on Krkaca.

“Witnesses for the defence said that they searched houses after the attack and arrested civilians. On orders from the commander, the defendant was sent to another place afterwards. The question is what happened in the meantime. Although witnesses claim that the defendant was with them all the time, the Court could not accept their statements,” Kebo said.

“We concluded that the defendant may have been at Simun’s house, but also he may have went to houses of Saric and Zelenika later,” he added.

The presiding judge said the victim, Iva Pavlovic, was a simpleminded and uneducated women, which rules out that she could have actively participated in the war.

There is a possibility of an appeal to this verdict to the Supreme Court of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.