Eniz Basic Sentenced to Two Years in Prison

Basic, a former member of the Bosnian Army, was found guilty of abducting Luka Sesta and Mirko Letic from a house in the village of Vardiste in April 1993. He handed them over to unknown persons at a checkpoint in Bilivode. The charred bodies of Sesta and Letic were found later.

Enes Malicbegovic, the trial chamber chair, said the chamber reached its verdict on the basis of eyewitness testimony and a review of all the evidentiary material.

“Taking into account what the accused was charged with, an unauthorized deprivation of liberty, the inhumane treatment and great suffering of the detainees, and the fact that his act preceded the death of the detainees, deaths for which he has not been charged, I believe that a two year prison sentence is an adequate criminal and legal sanction,” Malicbegovic said.

The verdict can be appealed before the Supreme Court of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.