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They have been released on Tuesday, June 3. Goran Damjanovic’s sentence expires on July 9 this year, and Zoran Damjanovic two days later.
Senad Kreho, lawyer for Goran Damjanovic, said that legal conditions for parole have been met, so the brothers will not be returned to prison.
Damjanovic brothers have been found guilty that, as members of the Bosnian Serb army, on June 2, 1992 they beat 20 to 30 prisoners in Bojnik. According to the verdict, the abuse lasted between one and three hours and the prisoners were beaten with bats, legs and hands.
In March this year, the Bosnian State court applied a more lenient criminal code – which is the code of the former Yugoslavia – sentenced Goran Damjanovic to six-and-a-half and Zoran Damjanovic to six years in prison.
The Bosnian State court rendered this verdict, applying a decision of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
In 2007, the Damjanovic brothers were sentenced to 21-and-a-half years in prison, when the Bosnian criminal code was used.
The case was sent to retrial after the European court – and later the Bosnian Constitutional court – said that the former Yugoslav court should have been applied, which is more lenient, and was used at the time the crimes occurred.
Goran Damjanovic’s Defence team sent the case to the European Court of Human Rights.
