Verdict Partially Repealed in Velibor Bogdanovic Case
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According to the verdict, on the night of May 25 or 26, 1993, Bogdanovic and five other unknown members of the Croatian Defense Council went to a Bosniak family’s apartment, where he raped a woman and took her husband to the Heliodrom detention camp. The Appellate Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina confirmed this verdict.
He was sentenced according to the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and not the Criminal Code of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which was the law in effect at the time. The defense filed an appeal with the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which determined that a retroactive application of the law infringed upon Bogdanovic’s rights and partially repealed the verdict.
Prosecutor Slavica Terzic said she agreed with the appeal, and proposed that the court apply legislation more favourable for the defendant when determining the sentence, specifically the Criminal Code of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. She also requested that the court hand down an adequate sentence considering the crime in question.
Defense attorney Nada Dalipagic asked the court to hand down a new, significantly shorter sentence.
“When considering the duration of the sentence, I ask the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina to consider the fact that Bogdanovic is the father of three children and that his wife is unemployed as mitigating circumstances,” Dalipagic said.
An arrest warrant against Bogdanovic was issued when he failed to appear at the pronouncement of the verdict at his initial trial in August 2011. He was sentenced to six years in prison for rape and the unlawful detention of civilians in the Mostar area in 1993.
He failed to appear at today’s hearing as well. According to Dalipagic, he was properly informed about the timing of the hearing.
The Appellate Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina will render a decision at a later stage.
