Bosnia Arrests Former Bosnian Serb Army Officer for War Crime

Bosnian State Investigation and Protection Agency police. Photo: SIPA.

State Investigation and Protection Agency officers on Tuesday arrested Ratko Djurkovic, who is wanted on charges of failing to prevent murders of civilians and captives in the village of Tursunovo Brdo near Teocak in the Ugljevik area in July 1992 or to take action to punish the perpetrators.

Djurkovic was charged alongside Radomir Nedic, the former commander of the Bosnian Serb Army’s First Majevica Brigade.

“They are charged, in their capacity as Bosnian Serb Army commanding officers, who had an effective control over their units, with having failed to undertake measures to prevent the murders of civilians and captives and, after the crime had been committed, failed to undertake actions to prosecute and punish the perpetrators of the crime in the village of Tursunovo Brdo, [near] Teocak, in the municipality of Ugljevik in July 1992 during a widespread and systematic attack against the Bosniak civilian population, knowing of the attack and that their actions formed a part of that attack,” the state prosecution said in a statement.

The prosecution alleged that during the attack, military forces commanded by the suspects killed four Bosniak civilians and two captured Bosnian Army soldiers.

“Djurkovic, who is now under arrest, will be handed over to the assigned prosecutor for an interrogation within the legal deadline,” the prosecution said.

The Veterans’ Association of Ugljevik Municipality condemned the arrest, saying it would give Djurkovic any assistance needed for his defence.

Jovan Marinkovic, the head of the association, told BIRN that Djurkovic was an honourable and decent citizen who is now elderly, but that as an officer, he taught his soldiers the laws of war.

“He was a teacher and worked in Teocak. Later he was a professor in Ugljevik and then a school director and president of the municipality,” Marinkovic said.

He criticised the authorities for using unnecessarily heavy-handed tactics against an elderly man.

“They came at the crack of dawn to arrest him. He has two sons, two daughters-in-law, a 75-year-old wife and five grandchildren, and they scared them with that awful arrest,” he added.